Happily Ever After All
by ThePink1 at Reefside.Net
Summary: A Mystic Prequel. Before they were the loving parents of the next generation of Guardians, they first had to grow up. Here's their Story.
1. Chapter 1

**Happily Ever After All**

A Mystic Prequel

By: _A J_

(Standard Disclaimer Applies)

**Author's Warning!:** This work of fanfiction is a long-term look at the relationship of two adults, and as such, I'm not gonna pull any punches. This means Language, Nudity, Violence, and Sex! If any of those are not for you, turn back now, and read some of the gentler fictions by others and myself. For those with some fortitude, let's get on to the story.

Chapter 1: _Will and Matt_

Will Vandom rolled over, a sappy grin on her perspiring face. She was freshly sixteen, just out of work, and finally, _finally,_ deflowered. _'Yup,'_ she thought, body still buzzing from her last orgasm. _'No turning back now.'_ Her grin widened as she looked back towards her long-time boyfriend, (_'and first time lover!' _she couldn't help but add to herself,) who was still panting heavily and smiling from his own release.

Matt Olsen, eighteen-and-a-half, also fresh from a hard day's work, and hopelessly besotted, watched Will's red hair fall into her eyes as she rolled back to face him. Propped up on her elbow, she trailed her free hand slowly up his side from hip to head, then tangled her fingers in his dusky hair as she surged forward to kiss him hungrily.

"Whoa," Matt gasped when they separated for air. "You mean to tell me one quick roll …"

"Two," Will interrupted with a smirk.

"Okay, two quick rolls in the proverbial hay have turned my shy, virginal girlfriend into a hopeless nympho?"

"Naaaah," she murmured airily, leaning close again and running her hand back down to grasp his most intimate parts. "But you know the old saying," she continued with a renewed grin and a flutter of her eyelashes – something she'd learned from her friend Cornelia. "Third time's the charm, Mister Olsen." She gave him a playful yank.

"Oh, babe," he moaned in resigned pleasure, leaning into their umpteenth kiss. Just as their lips touched, a door slammed somewhere downstairs.

"_Matt? Honey, I'm home,"_ echoed up from the kitchen. The two teens pulled apart in a hurry, panicking.

"Mom," Matt breathed in horror. Will swore quietly, her eyes clenching shut, then popping wide open as she sprang for the bathroom.

"_Dress!"_ she hissed as she hurtled out of his arms. As she got to the door of his half-bath, she held a hand out and uttered _"Quintessence!"_ Her own scattered clothes flew to her grasp from around the room, including her shoes from somewhere halfway up the stairs. She yanked the door shut behind her.

Matt meanwhile was frightfully yanking on the first pair of jeans he found on the floor, only noticing as he did up the button-fly that they were the ones he'd forgotten to wash after yesterday's painting job at the Lairs'. He took small solace in the fact that he _did_ grab today's shirt. He slid into the chair at his desk in the corner, and flipped open the first book he caught hold of as he heard footsteps on the stairs.

"Oh, hey Mom! Will and I were just working on some homework …" He looked hurriedly at the cover of the book. "_History_ homework," he said, as his mom walked in and the sound of the toilet flushing resounded in his room.

Will emerged from his half-bath, looking perfectly composed, and _certainly_ not like she'd been nude in his arms mere seconds before. "Yeah, hi Missus Olsen. It's the curse of being the stepdaughter of the History teacher. Everybody wants me to be their tutor." She gave a smirk at Matt as her hand came to rest on his shoulder. _"You _so_ owe me, Matthew Elias Olsen."_ Her mental voice held the laughter – and panic – she was hiding from his mother.

He grinned back up at her sheepishly, and projected back a mental image of himself winking, then one of him bowing at her feet. _"My life is in your hands, fair maiden,"_ he sent, even as the pair of them were telling the greatest spin story about the French Revolution, _EVER_.

"Uh-huh, well, I think it's time you got Will home, son. The pet shop closed over an hour ago." (Will was now working every other night at the Olsen's Pet Store/Animal Clinic with Matt's grandfather.) Nancy Olsen gave the pair an appraising look, her 'mother-sense' giving her all the signs of 'kids behaving badly'.

"Yeah …" they both said distractedly. Matt stood, his eyes never really leaving Will's, and the pair slowly went down the stairs and out the door, pausing only long enough to grab Matt's shoes and Will's schoolbag. Nancy listened to them go with a funny feeling, and turned to survey her son's room after she heard the door shut behind the two.

The usual teenaged-boy disaster area greeted her seeking eyes, but it was the disheveled bed that caught her attention. A couple steps closer, and an unmistakable scent led her to an unavoidable conclusion. There was no missing the smell of fresh sex. '_Oh, boy,' _Nancy thought, surveying further. A brightly colored square of foil halfway under the bed caught her eye, and she let out a sigh at its torn condition. _'Well, there's one less worry … Now I've just gotta decide whether to tell Sue or not tomorrow.'_

The worst thing about the long-time relationship between her son and the bright young Vandom girl was the fact that Nancy Olsen now worked at Simultech … alongside Will's mother, Susan Collins. She mulled the question over a late microwaveable dinner and a couple glasses of wine, but by the time Matt came home an hour later, all she'd managed to do was force herself to go to bed with a headache.

_w.i.t.c.h._

During their walk to Will's house, she and Matt started a new tradition. Whenever they got to an intersection, the two would kiss. At red lights, they would see how long they could hold the kiss before they had to resurface to breathe or the light changed. They held hands the entire way, and by the time the pair reached the Collins' residence, Will was softly bumping her hip into his as they walked.

Kissing on the front walkway, Matt slowly worked his way down her neck. "I can't believe your mom married him _before_ moving in," he said, leaving a trail of kisses from her collarbone to her ear, where he paused to murmur sweet nothings. Will squirmed against him at the feel of his breath by her ear.

"I can't believe I waited this long to #V© you," Will whispered back, grinding their pelvises together. "Soooo, when do you think we can manage a repeat performance?" She was about to drag him back for a French Kiss when he abruptly coughed, stood away from her, and stubbed her toe with his.

"Hey, Mister Collins," he said in a too-cheery voice over her shoulder, at which Will swore softly and turned around. Her new stepfather was standing just outside the door, putting something in the mailbox.

"Matthew, Will," Dean Collins returned, sounding overly formal to the pair. "I hope you're ready for that test tomorrow, you two. I went back through the book myself to add some extra credit questions for those who need it." The two teens both cringed, wishing they actually _had_ studied for at least part of their evening together.

"_Nuts, and Taranee won't help us out, either,"_ Will said telepathically to Matt.

"_Just means we'll both be waking up early for a cram session,"_ Matt returned, holding his fake smile up as they walked to the porch, and Will climbed up the first step.

Turning around, she gloried in the naughty view she was presenting to him. His eyes were mere inches from her bustline, thanks to their height difference after her step up. "Better hurry home, so your mom doesn't worry." She leaned down and pressed her forehead against his. _"If you want, we can meet up at school before homeroom, and try to study together."_

"See you tomorrow, Will. Good night." They kissed, chastely, one last time. "Good night Mister Collins," Matt said, peering over her shoulder at their history teacher. _"Better not, babe. That early in the morning, it'll be hard enough to concentrate on the book _without_ you there to distract me."_ He gave her a wink as he stepped back, their hands still clasped._ "But I do appreciate the sentiment."_ Letting go, he sauntered down the walk and into the night, and a few second later, Will heard him clearly whistling 'The Will to Love', the song he'd written back when they first started dating three years ago.

Will sighed, listening 'till his song was lost amid the nightly cricket chirring. "Someday, I'm gonna marry that man," she said with a grin. Turning, she found Dean still standing at the top of the porch, looking down at her with an unreadable expression.

"Well, maybe we'll study the history of weddings next semester, so you can pick one you like," he said with an evil gleam in his eye. Will just rolled her eyes, climbing up the steps to go inside.

"I'd ask how your day was, but I saw you for most of it," she said with a grin. "So let's go ask Mom how hers was." The pair walked inside, and into the kitchen, where Susan Collins, Will's mom of sixteen years and Dean's wife of sixteen weeks was just taking her reheated dinner out of the microwave.

"Ahhhh, there's nothing like the smell of leftover roast beef and vegetables. Again." The raven-haired woman looked up from her plate as her family entered. "Hey, Will! Happy Birthday! Again, in case you actually heard me this morning before school. How was the pet shop tonight? D'you want a plateful? There's enough left for another." Susan waved a hand at the fridge.

"No thanks, Mom," Will answered with a grin. "Hay Lin and Irma stopped by with eggrolls around eight-thirty, and I kinda stuffed myself. The store was actually really crowded today. Mostly people looking for kittens, strangely. Fortunately, Ol' Jim just got a big bunch from the rescue program at the pound, so the first fourteen shoppers were happy, at least." Will grabbed a can of Root Beer from the fridge and sat at the table with her mother and Dean. "So how was the high-tech wonderworks of Simultech? Nancy just kinda walked in on Matt and I studying and sent me home."

Susan chewed slowly for a few seconds, letting the question hang between them. She'd known Will was working on her birthday, and was surmising that the other girls were planning something for after the pet store closed, since they knew, and relished _ignoring_, the fact that Will never liked making a big deal out of her birthday. If the gang hadn't managed to cart off her daughter for a late movie or fun night of games and dinner at the new Dave & Buster's that had opened over the summer, Susan could only suspect that this upcoming weekend was going to be an even bigger bash than she'd already planned for her little girl's sweet sixteen.

"Simultech is in the process of negotiating a merger, which is why Nancy pushed you out the door so fast. Her head was probably killing her after today's merry-go-round of negotiations." Susan put her fork down and massaged her own temples, sympathizing with her coworker. Susan worked in data management, which meant she had very little to do with people. Nancy Olsen was unfortunately in the unenviable position of executive personnel director, so she was literally in the frontlines of the merger madness, as the two companies tried to keep as many of their employees as possible.

Will, who'd learned a bit about corporate operations in a beginner's business elective class the previous year, and Dean, who just plain knew too much, both just "Ooooh" in sympathy.

"Wellll," Will said after a minute, pushing her unopened soda over to Dean. "On that note, I'll see ya both in the morning. Got a big test tomorrow, so I better get plenty of sleep." With a grin, she took off for her room, and she could hear Dean and her mom chuckling the whole way.


	2. Chapter 2

**Happily Ever After All**

A Mystic Prequel

By: _A J_

(Standard Disclaimer Applies)

**Author's Warning!:** This work of fanfiction is a long-term look at the relationship of two adults, and as such, I'm not gonna pull any punches. This means Language, Nudity, Violence, and Sex! If any of those are not for you, turn back now, and read some of the gentler fictions by others and myself. For those with some fortitude, let's get on to the story.

Chapter 2: _Taranee and Nigel, First Part_

Susan was right; the girls ambushed Will that weekend for a belated birthday bash, and at one point during the afternoon, Irma the irrepressible asked whether Matt had given her anything special. Will's blush threatened to outshine her hair, and the other Guardians all stared at her, speechless.

"Oh my god. Will, c'mon. Tell us _everything_," Irma demanded. Looking around at the expectant faces of her teammates, the teens' leader sighed in defeat. So Will told them.

She told them about Matt calling her from his job at Smarty-Mart during his break, telling her he'd meet her at the Olsen's Animal Clinic after his shift, and that he'd bring them both a late dinner from the deli. She told them about finding bliss not once, but _twice_ in his arms, after their meal. Then she told them of Nancy Olsen's interruption of what promised to be a third round, blushing all the harder when her friends all laughed quietly at her and Matt's totally transparent excuses about studying.

"Thanks, you guys, way to show your support to your leader in her hour of need."

"But you _did_ pass the test, didn't you?" Taranee asked with a knowing smile. Will nodded with a grimace.

"Barely. I guess being under the same roof as the history teacher is good for something after all, huh?"

"And how did Matt do?" Cornelia added with a smirk. She already knew; she was in the same history class as Matt and Will. She just wanted the others to be as well-informed. Will gave her an aggrieved glare.

"He … didn't," she moaned, dropping her head to the table in misery. "He walked me to Dean's, and went back home, and he said he was gonna try to get up early to study before class, but if he did, it didn't help, 'cause he fell asleep in the middle of the test and ended up with an incomplete." She looked up at Cornelia again. "I convinced Dean I tired him out cleaning up the clinic the night before, and asked him to give Matt a make-up test. He agreed, but Matt has to take it on Monday, his next day off, as a detention. I was so tempted to ask him to let me retake it too, just to get a better grade, but Jim Olsen already asked me to come back to the clinic right after school to help him with the next pet supply delivery truck."

"Wellll," Hay Lin began, leadingly. "That's _after_ the weekend. D'you two got any _other_ plans together for tonight and to …" She never got to finish the pointed question, as the five Guardians all became aware of the plaintive chiming of the Heart of Candracar from under Will's blouse. "Aw, mannnn, and Eric and the rest of the band were supposed to meet us for dinner." The Air girl pouted as they all stood up, and everybody threw some cash at the table to cover their hasty departure.

"You guys seriously planned to spend all day here?" Will asked as they took off for the door, admiring the design of the combination diner/arcade as they made their way out. _'I suppose there are worse places to spend a birthday,'_ she thought. _'Like some backwater swamp in Meridian.'_ She shuddered, remembering last year, when her mother had spent a wonderful evening dinner at home … together with her daughter's _Altermere_.

"Yeah," Irma stated sadly, looking at her wallet again before she tucked it away. "Hey, did anybody ever figure out how often we end up just straight out overtipping whenever we have to run out of places like this?" Taranee and Cornelia both gave her weird looks while Hay and Will were both calling their respective boyfriends, giving them the capsule edition of the girls' abrupt change of plans. "What? I was just asking," Irma continued, with a glare of her own. "Not _everybody_ here has rich parents or a regular paying job."

"Our afternoon is now our own," Will interrupted. "Matt and Eric are letting the others know we'll be a little late getting here after all, so let's go save the universe."

"Again," Cornelia added with a wink. Will opened a fold, and the Guardians stepped from the side alley behind the new Dave & Buster's of Heatherfield to Candracar Temple in the heart of infinity.

_w.i.t.c.h._

"Ohmigod, ohmigod, ohmigod," Taranee muttered as she collapsed into her chair at the large table the Guardians and 'Cobalt Blue' were sharing. The band had recently changed their name in an effort to attract a label-agent's attention. With the inclusion of Eric and the strong base of soulful ballads the boys had as a repertoire, they figured playing up the blues in their band name couldn't steer them wrong. With a handful of paying gigs since the start of the schoolyear under their new name already, they were pretty hopeful. Now all the guys turned to see what was so wrong that Taranee was reduced to _almost_ swearing.

"What is it, _mon cher?_ " Nigel asked. Worried that more might have gone on with the girl's newest mission than they regularly dealt with, he placed a comforting arm around her shoulders. He was equally gratified and mortified when she spun in her seat to burrow into his arms, sighing in relief. The other boys all traded worried looks with their girlfriends. Taranee wasn't usually the clingy type.

"Just … traffic," Taranee hiccupped, trying to fight down a wave of fresh sobs. Now that the Guardians' mission was over with, her usual 'on-the-job' bravado was bleeding off fast, and her borderline psychoses were all threatening to cross the line at once. She'd had a similar episode a few months before, but that had been her Astral Drop, and she was worried now that the poor duplicate's problems had just been a terrible foreshadowing. It didn't help that the Big Bad this time around had been another run-in with their determined foe Lemagrag. The Guardians had twice stopped him from entering Earth from his home dimension of Learza with his ravening hordes of Frums, and now he'd tried to take over Metamoor's southern third continent.

Elyon and her loyal allies had been able to keep him out, but an unusual backlash between Elyon's magic and Lemagrag's had pushed him and his ugly blue goblinoids into a world that hadn't seen the touch of magic in millennia. Candracar had summoned the Guardians to send Lemagrag back home again, and they'd succeeded … but not before the dark wizard had collapsed a stone tower around Taranee as she tried to rescue a trio of civilians caught in the crossfire. Her near-death face-to-face with one of her many phobias was still keeping her nerves on edge. She telepathically told Nigel she'd tell him the truth later, and just contented herself with snuggling with him for the time being. He nodded his assent against her forehead so she'd notice, and she giggled at the scratch of his five-o-clock whiskers.

"Awwww," Hay Lin murmured, giggling and grabbing onto her boyfriend Eric's hand as the tableful all watched Taranee slowly slide into Nigel's lap. Just then, their server showed up.

"Alright, now that the rest of your party is here, do you want to order some drinks?" He looked up expectantly from his pad of paper to see the tangled pile of limbs in one chair. "Hey, none of that in here, you two. Take it home."

"It's not what you think, Brian," Irma said, reading his nametag and thinking fast. She was fully prepared to lay her magical 'whammy' on him if she had to, but many years of being under the spotlight had shined her silver tongue to perfection. "She had a really bad scare driving over here, and he's just trying to calm her down, that's all." She waved a hand in Taranee's direction, who shivered convincingly. "Now, we're well known for exorbitant tipping to the well-deserving," Irma continued, grinning devilishly. "So let's see if you're up to the challenge, Brian."

"_Damn, she's good,"_ Cornelia sent to Will in frank admiration of their radio star. She was the only Guardian who was dateless for the evening, since Caleb was back in Meridian. It had been almost a month since she'd seen him, and she was beginning to worry whether the argument they'd had at Christmas was the final one she always dreaded. She had hoped he and Elyon would make it for Will's un-party, but now Elly was too busy with the invasion cleanup, and she'd apparently left Caleb behind in charge of Meridian City while she fought off Lemagrag.

The band and the girls all ordered drinks, and Brian left behind a giant stack of menus to peruse while he went to get them. "Finally," Hay Lin sighed, leaning into a heated kiss with Eric, and practically climbing into his lap as well. "Think we could get away with the same excuse?" she murmured, her hands running through his hair. "I _was_ in the car with her." She buried her head in the crook of his neck, whispering random innuendoes as they occurred to her.

"Somehow, I just don't think you'll be able to fake being a nervous wreck successfully," Will laughed at her, as Hay pouted back. "Especially if you keep doing that in plain view." The redhead nodded at where Hay Lin's hands were headed, digging into Eric's belt in full sight of the rest of the table.

"Oh, pooh," Hay blushed, and withdrew from her boyfriend, sitting on her hands to keep herself under control. Ever since her infamous Astral Drop incident, she'd constantly had to fight her newly-overt sexuality. It had led to a string of increasingly wild encounters over the course of a week and a half just before Halloween last year, and she was still finding it hard to keep her hands to herself. While Joel and Dominic didn't have a clue as to the real reason for Hay's problems four months ago, they were conscious of the problem itself, and did all they could to try to help. Within reason, at least; Dom was still trying to live down the fact that he was one of the guys Hay Lin had seduced during her difficulties, and his friendship with Eric was still strained.

Will, watching the byplay between the three just then, had to look away as well, and found Matt staring at her knowingly. He may have been the first guy she ever had sex with, but he hadn't been her first lover, at least indirectly. Will's Altermere 'Mina had been another willing victim of Hay Lin, and she had all the memories of that fateful encounter, if none of the soul-searing physical reminders.

Shaking her head to get off that _verbieten_ subject, she smiled up at him, and grabbed a menu, to find that aside from Taranee (who was just glancing at the one Nigel had spread before them,) and Hay (who was sharing a menu with Irma and still sitting on her hands,) she was the last to nab one. She worried just how long her inadvertent drift down her psychic 'sister's memory lane had taken, but Matt just reached over and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze before returning to the 'surf & turf' combo platters list.

"How's that look?" Nigel asked, pointing out one of the dinner salads to Taranee.

She nodded and said, "Don't forget to get extra chicken strips." Since becoming the Fire Guardian, Taranee had found her required daily calorie intake had doubled, and was almost triple on those days she had to use her powers for extended periods, like when she'd burned her way out of the stone rubble an hour before. She was already feeling shaky now, and knew she needed protein and carbs soon. Nigel's accepting nod was his way of telling her he knew why she asked, and she thanked the Guardian's lucky stars that had led him into the old warehouse to witness the girls' first go-around with Lemagrag. He'd found out the truth that day, and though it had led to some rocky times in their relationship, she wouldn't trade it for all the money in the world.

The band started chatting about all the new VR games Dave & Busters had gotten lately, and that sparked the usual round of bragging and teasing among them. _"You get the feeling they hang out here a lot,"_ Cornelia said to the other Guardians telepathically.

"_Where do you think the idea to have dinner here came from?"_ Taranee returned, giving Nigel a smile. She kissed him and slid out of his lap back to her seat, feeling almost calm now that the conversation was closer to normal teen-dom.

Even as she was thinking that, Irma had to go ruin it. _"Seriously, what is that jerk Lemagrag's problem, anyway. We've been to Learza. There's nothing _wrong_ with the place."_

"_Maybe that's what's wrong, Irma."_ Cornelia crinkled her nose as the fizz in her soda hit her face. _"Maybe he's one of those high-strung Type-A personalities who needs problems in his life to make himself feel better."_ She set her glass back down and smiled serenely around the table. _"How's that for a theory … Will?"_

Will sputtered her mouthful of cola all over her side of the table, and the rest of the group laughed, if not all at the same thing. _"Maybe he just couldn't get a date in his home dimension,"_ she retorted, eyes gleaming in challenge. It was hitting below the belt, but at this point, she and Cornelia needed an Earth excuse to dump the last of their adrenaline from their adventure in … darn, she'd have to remember to ask the Oracle the name of that newly-visited dimension later.

Cornelia stiffened at Will's jibe, but recognized it for what it really was, Will relaxing around her enough to finally join in the never-ending spats she usually had with Irma. But since this was Irma's first date with 'Cobalt Blue's drummer, Joel, she had called a silent truce with her longtime sparring partner. Some things were just more important than random teasing.

Will and Cornelia stood at the same time, identical manic looks lighting up their features. Having listened to the band boys before, they knew which game they were headed for first. "Jedi Duel, Corny?"

"You know it, Wilma," the Earth Guardian responded, and the two took off like ten-year-olds, laughing as the others watched them leaving, dumbfounded. Brian returned, driving the antics of the pair out of the others' minds, and they all placed their orders, Taranee and Matt giving Cornelia and Will's choices.

Meanwhile, the missing two Guardians were causing a sensation at the Jedi Duel virtual reality game. The line had been amazingly short, and they only had two other combatants to face instead of the maximum ten the facility usually welcomed. The two girls spent their time in line trying to ignore the blatant ogling of their pair of soon-to-be opponents, who rivaled Martin Tubbs at his worst for nerd-dom.

"_You sure about this, Red?"_ Cornelia asked, certain the skinny guy behind her was going to start _drooling_ on her perfect posterior at any second.

"_We could always wait for the others, Gold,"_ Will responded with a smirk, using their new codenames from Phobos' last escape attempt. The jerk had tried to use a magically-upgraded breed of mogriffs to split up the Guardians, and had nearly succeeded thanks to Hay Lin's problems at the time.

"_What, and watch you and Matt team up on the rest of us? I think not," _the Earth Guardian retorted with her habitual hair-flip.

The two girls climbed gratefully into their individual VR pods, and scrolled through the character select screens, eventually settling on Jedi look-alikes of themselves. (Will's was male, but it had been the only red-haired Jedi to choose from.) Starting on the virtual hunt for Darth Vader and each other through the labyrinthine spice-mines of Kessel, the four contestants dazzled onlookers with their gaming prowess, and their frequent banter. Shortly into the game, Cornelia and Will put aside their differences and struck out to take down Darth in a refinery that looked like it had been bit-mapped wholesale from Bespin, and with the hit-and-run tactics of two veteran mystic fighters, beat back the Dark Lord of the Sith long enough for one of the two boys to wise up and join them to deliver the finishing blow.

They immediately finished him off too, of course, and then spent the rest of their fifteen minutes of game-time in a running fight with each other while hunting down the last poor boy. The first kid respawned right back where he'd died, just after Darth Vader reappeared, and spent his last few minutes wailing and running his character away from him. The two girls took a second try at Vader after they finished the other boy off once, then dueled each other to death. All told, they walked out with the high scores for the week, Cornelia's slightly higher because she'd figured out the controller code for the Kenobi Turn, a blocking move that put her character in just the right spot for a beheading strike at her opponents. They walked back to their table to much applause, grinning.

"Ghu, I haven't had that much fun in a while," Will sighed, dropping into her seat next to Matt. She stole one of his fries from the appetizer plate he'd ordered, and grinned when he slid the whole thing over to her. "Not hungry, Matt?" she inquired. It was still over half full.

"Yeah, but I'm saving room for rib-eye and shrimp kabobs," he answered. He gave her thigh a quick squeeze under the table, and stood up with a grin, along with Dominic and Nigel. "Now if you'll excuse us, ladies and germs, we've got to see if we can regain our titles at Jedi Duel. You two have just destroyed several weekends of practice in one fell swoop." Will and Cornelia exchanged surprised glances, then a high-five across the table with a _"WHOOT!"_ Neither girl had the heart to tell the guys it was the first time they'd played that. _Ever._

Taranee caught the thought from them though, and shook her head, laughing. She looked up to find that Eric and Hay were totally absorbed with each other, and Joel and Irma were busily comparing their 'favorites' lists, trying to find common ground other than 'all our friends are dating each other'.

Taranee wondered what Martin had said wrong this time for Irma to try her hand at dating _again_. It seemed that, every couple months, Martin would do or say something that would rub Irma totally the wrong way, and she'd spend a week ignoring him, only to fall for a fresh well-thought-out line from the poor besotted boy. The Fire Guardian wasn't even sure which way _she_ wanted the two's relationship to go anymore, having witnessed the best and worst of their behavior first hand. Lord knew the Water Guardian would have to search long and hard to find another guy half as devoted to her as Martin Tubbs. He'd adored Irma since sometime before first grade, after she had saved him from a bully in summer camp.

Watching Irma and Joel now, she wished the drummer luck, but decided it was a moot point. Will interrupted her just then, asking for the condiment caddy, and Taranee determinedly tried to put her mind back on her own love life as she handed the wire rack full of bottles across the table. One look at her Air-powered teammate forestalled that.

Hay was behaving herself as well as possible in light of the public area. Still sitting on her hands, she was leaned in against Eric, and he was sharing his large salad with her a bite at a time. Every few bites, he'd spear a cherry tomato up and hold it between them, and the two would share it in the middle of a kiss. With a grin, Taranee reached over the table and rested a finger on Eric's off hand.

"_You know, that's _really_ not helping things_," she sent to him, and he could only nod back, blushing. Hay, having 'heard' the exchange through their mutual contact with Eric, grinned back.

"_Oh, but it _is," she responded telepathically, and her grin turned predatory as she let her hands loose long enough to loop them around Eric's arm in a proprietary fashion. Taranee shook her head again, and blushed at the look Hay sent her next. Too much information, _that_ was for sure.

Dom, Matt and Nigel came back, crestfallen expressions on their faces. None of them had come even close to beating Will or Cornelia's scores. Matt had gotten closest to the girls of the three, but without utilizing his Regent's powers, he'd still made a distant, sorry showing for third place. Will pulled him in for a conciliatory kiss, and gave him back the last few of the fries he'd left her. The guys settled back into their seats just as their food orders arrived.

Everybody 'Ooooh'd and 'Aaaah'd over what everyone else ordered, and there was a good minute of friendly fork-trading before they all settled down to their own dinners. Taranee saw Cornelia gazing off into the distance, and asked her telepathically what was up.

The Earth Guardian gave a look in Will and Matt's direction, then in Eric and Hay's, and Taranee realized the poor blonde girl was trapped in the corner between the two most 'together-y' couples of the Guardians, and without Caleb. _"Think I'll ever see him again?"_ Cornelia wondered, and sighed into her chicken Marseille.

"_I guess that all depends on who said what last, Cornelia."_ The other Guardians knew about the fight she and Caleb had just before Christmas, but none of them had been brave enough to listen in. _"And how soon you two are ready to say you're sorry,"_ Taranee added with a sympathetic smile. Cornelia sighed again, and gave Will another furtive look.

"_Then I guess I'll have to get an express ticket back to Meridian tomorrow. Or do you think I should go back tonight, right after dinner?"_ She looked torn up by the decision, and Taranee gave it a serious moment's thought.

"_Tell you what, Cornelia, why don't we ask the others when we're done. Somehow, I don't think I'm the best girl to go to for relationship advice."_ Taranee smiled in self-effacement; she'd only had one boyfriend so far, and it had taken Nigel six months to ask her out originally, and another year before Taranee had relaxed enough around him to accept more than a hug, let alone a kiss. Cornelia did her best to hold back a snicker, until Taranee caught her eye again, and the two girls enjoyed a laugh together while the others all just looked at them, confused. _"Later,"_ Taranee told the other Guardians, knowing they would pass it on to Eric, Matt and Nigel.

"_Girl, why don't you just jump him and get it over with?"_ Cornelia asked her, a shameless smile lighting up her face. _"We're teenagers. We're _supposed_ to give in to our hormones."_ She knew Taranee was the only one Hay Lin hadn't 'initiated' one way or the other during her sexual meltdown, and was actually feeling almost sorry for the African-American girl. It certainly wasn't like she didn't _want_ Nigel. She just didn't have the guts to be the one to make the first move … normally. But maybe with a little bit of encouragement …

"_You know I can _hear_ you plotting and scheming loud and clear, right?"_ Taranee countered with a grin of her own. The conversation wasn't exactly new, and she herself had asked the other girls for advice once back in December. The chance to act just hadn't presented itself, yet … Then it hit her. Yan Lin was gonna want to strangle them when she found out, if Mira didn't get to them first. But the means, motive, and the opportunity, (she snickered quietly to herself at that one; she'd spent too long watching CSI and Law & Order with her father again, apparently,) were all present. _"Hey, gang, I propose a sleepover at the Silver Dragon tonight. And … we ask the boys to crash."_

The other four Guardians all dropped their current forkfuls, staring at her in open shock. Will was the first to recover. _"Beads, you aren't proposing what I _think_ you are, are you?"_


	3. Chapter 3

**Happily Ever After All**

A Mystic Prequel

By: _A J_

(Standard Disclaimer Applies)

**Author's Warning!:** This work of fanfiction is a long-term look at the relationship of two adults, and as such, I'm not gonna pull any punches. This means Language, Nudity, Violence, and Sex! If any of those are not for you, turn back now, and read some of the gentler fictions by others and myself. For those with some fortitude, let's get on to the story.

Chapter 3: _Taranee and Nigel, Second Part_

The other four Guardians all dropped their current forkfuls, staring at her in open shock. Will was the first to recover. _"Beads, you aren't proposing what I _think_ you are, are you?"_

Taranee shook her head. _"Better. We bring all the stuff for a camping trip, and instead of staying at the Dragon, we spend the weekend in Meridian. Nigel and Eric never _have_ gotten the grand tour, and Cornelia wanted to see Caleb."_ She left the rest up to the other girls' imaginations, crossing her fingers under the table and returning to the giant dinner salad she was calmly splitting with Nigel.

They all ate in silence for a few moments, letting the oblivious band members carry the conversation around them. Then Irma stood up suddenly, her eyes squinting inscrutably. "Powder check, ladies," she said, with a nod of her head to the restrooms on the _far_ side of the diner section. The Guardians all just filed after her, half of them still in shock from Taranee's … _Taranee's_ of all people … suggestion.

Once inside, Taranee and Hay checked all the stalls, and as soon as they were sure they were alone, Will Quintessenced the door lock to stick shut, and Hay sound-proofed the room. Cornelia rounded on the Fire-mistress at once. "You're serious about this idea?" Taranee only nodded, grinning. "Wow, and here I was thinking you didn't have the guts when not all Guardian-ed up …"

"Wait, this idea didn't come from you first?" Irma snapped, whirling to face Hay Lin. Even without her Astral Drop-induced mania, the Air Guardian was still a regular nymphette, and a pretty clever one too, having admitted to the other girls recently that she and Eric would sneak off to the darndest places to 'get their freak on', as the current saying went.

"Nope!" Hay smiled as she looked over at Taranee. "It's all her!" The Chinese girl sounded almost _proud,_ and Taranee hung her head, blushing slightly.

"I don't know about this, you guys," Will started. "I think the Congregation would have a fit if we stoop to using our powers for a 'booty call'." She used her fingers to make quote marks in the air for the last two words, and Cornelia snorted.

"I was originally gonna ask if you could just send me to Meridian so I could visit with Elyon. Talking to Caleb again would have been a perk, and an iffy one at that. You know we didn't split on the best of terms, right?" The other girls nodded at Cornelia, and she continued. "The rest of the plan, 'booty call' notwithstanding, does have some basic merit. And we really could use the day away from home, Will."

The door shook just then, and they realized they'd been in there almost three minutes. "Aargh! Okay, to be continued," Will swore, unlocking the door while Hay popped her Air-bubble. A trio of very familiar little old ladies came stumbling in through the door when it unexpectedly opened before them, and hurriedly straightened themselves before the Guardians.

"There you go, Hazel, I told you it was just stuck … Oh, hello, girls! My, we do meet in the strangest places, don't we?" The bright-eyed woman with silver hair in front stepped away from her companions. The young women couldn't believe their eyes. 'Bawdy Maude' seemed to be everywhere lately, her two equally chipper companions right behind her. Hazel made her excuses and rushed into the first open stall, while their tallest friend Daphne (Who the teens had discovered over Christmas break was Dean Collins' widowed mother!) went over to the sinks to apply a bit of rouge to her paling cheeks.

The other girls all looked at Irma, who just made a strangled 'peep', before she walked purposefully back out of the ladies' room. Maude and the rest of the Guardians just eyed each other amusedly for a second, and then Hay cracked up laughing. She couldn't help it. Slowly leaning over the sink next to her, she let the whole situation go in peals of laughter, while the others followed suite, if with a little more decorum. Taranee stepped forward and gave Maude a hug, while Daphne and Will leaned into each other for a European kiss to each cheek.

"What kind of trouble are you three getting into tonight?" Cornelia asked Hazel Hale (no relation) when she made her way out of her stall.

"Oh, just seeing what the young people are doing these days," she answered, with a wink. She seemed to be having difficulty with her skirt, and turned her left side to Cornelia. "Could you be a dear and get this, it seems to be stuck." Cornelia looked down past Hazel's hefty waistline, to see she was fighting with the zipper. The problem was immediately obvious.

"Just a loose thread, Hazel," she said, telekinetically pushing the offending string back out of the zipper's path, and giving the tab a firm yank. It slid up easily.

"Thank you, dear," her honorary extra aunt said with a smile. "We couldn't help noticing you were all here with that band from the party. Which one are you dating, Cornelia?"

To the other girls' amazement, Cornelia actually blushed. "None of them," she admitted. "I'm still with Caleb." _'At least I hope I am,'_ she added to herself. "He's away on family business right now, and Dom and I are just along for the company." She knew the older ladies didn't need to ask who the others were seeing, their seating arrangements, and their interactions so far tonight, were obvious enough clues, and very little got past these ladies.

"Well, don't let us keep you, girls, I'm sure the boys are anxiously awaiting your return," Maude said with a ribald wink. As the Guardians went past them, she gave Hay Lin an unexpected swat to the backside. "And you behave yourself, young lady. There'll be plenty of time for that kind of shenanigans when you're our age. Right ladies?" Hazel and Daphne both cackled at Hay's furiously flushed cheeks, and the girls scampered back to their seats, to find Irma was telling the boys about the Guardians' previous meetings with the three little old ladies in detail.

"…and Daphne seems like the quiet one, I know, but get a little champagne in her, and watch out! Aren't I right, Will?" Her leader could only nod numbly, remembering the antics a very drunk Daphne had gotten up to at the Collins' New Years party.

Matt took her hand to help her back around to her seat, and kept hold of it afterwards. _"So what was the conference for, Babe?"_ he asked telepathically. She blushed looking up at him.

"_Taranee had an idea for tonight, so we can spend some more time together."_ She looked furtively around, sure the other girls could tell what she and Matt were talking about from her blush alone. _"Something about meeting up at the Silver Dragon and spending the weekend in Meridian camping."_ She couldn't believe she was seriously thinking this over. But one peek at the hungry look that crossed Matt's face reawakened some tawdry memories of her birthday a few days earlier, and she gulped, suddenly breathless.

She distinctly heard Hay giggling as the Air Guardian told Taranee _"That's three!"_ telepathically. The pair both looked at Irma expectantly.

Irma just glared at her fellow Guardians surreptitiously. _"And what am I getting out of this trip?"_ She was being facetious of course, but the other girls knew where she was coming from. Her and Martin were constantly breaking up and getting back together, and he was the only one of the Guardian's boyfriends who didn't know the truth. Joel was alright, and he'd been Matt's friend and bandmember since before the girls had become the Champions of Candracar, but she was pretty sure he wasn't the one for her, either. She _definitely_ didn't want to be the one to drag a potential new boyfriend off to Meridian, expose them all, and then _not_ have things work out with the guy.

"_You know, Irma,"_ Hay said with a naughty wink. _"Aldarn's always liked you …"_

Irma stared at her best friend since … _forever!_ _"And when did you find this out, Hay Meiying Lin?"_ Hay Lin blushed until she matched Will's hair.

"_Th-that first Saturday after …"_ She never had to finish the sentence. The other girls all gaped at her, along with Eric, Nigel, and Matt, included in the conversation by contact with their individual sweethearts. They all knew _when_ Hay was talking about. The probable circumstances behind what must have sparked such an intimate conversation between the Air Guardian and the Meridian blacksmith were painfully obvious to them all.

"Oh … my … _God_, Hay Lin. You … and Aldarn?" Cornelia accidentally asked out loud, but thankfully, Joel was in the bathroom and Dominic was saying something band-related to Nigel. Or so they thought.

"Whoa, wait. Who's Aldarn?" Keyboarder and Bassist both asked, while Eric looked at Hay like she'd gone insane all over again.

"Caleb's best friend back home, kinda like I'm Hay-hay's," Irma said, trying to defuse the conversation before Joel got back. "He was visiting Caleb for Halloween last year. The guy in the green Darth Maul outfit," she added, seeing the two's blank confusion. Nigel nodded suddenly, catching on to who she was referring to, and then looked at Dom as well.

"Green Darth Maul … Hey, wasn't he the guy who couldn't dance?" Dominic vaguely remembered a tall guy with green skin and a ring of horns on his head at the Halloween party who'd gotten dragged out to the dance floor by two of the girls, only to end up doing something that looked like a very jerky, fast-paced waltz to 'We are the Champions / We Will Rock You' with … Will and Irma! He looked over at Hay Lin. "You slept with him, too?" As she hung her head, her blush now taking over her whole upper body, he whistled low. "Damn, girl, who _didn't_ you go after?"

Nigel and Taranee both coughed distractingly, (they hoped,) and Eric gave Dom an unmistakable _'Drop it!'_ glare. The keyboard player held his hands up in surrender, just before Joel came back to the table.

"Guys, the line for the john is unbelievable. So … what'd I miss?" he asked, but everyone busied themselves with their plates simultaneously. Joel shrugged and dug back into his half-rack of ribs, dismissing the odd behavior in favor of hunger.

"_Hay-hay, just how bad did it get that week?"_ Eric asked privately. He didn't want to end up in Meridian and having to defend her in an Honor Duel over something she'd had no control over. If she could 'fess up now, they could put the whole thing to rest without it becoming an even bigger issue later.

"_Are you sure you want to know?"_ she sent back, worrying her bottom lip. He nodded, more worried for her than about any surprise she could spring on him at this point. _"Well, after Friday night, we went home, and I didn't see you all weekend because we were helping Elyon in Meridian, trying to recapture her stupid brother Phobos. You know how _that_ ended, so I won't tell you that part again."_ She burrowed into his side again, now miserable about reliving the memory of her 'Week in Hell' and worse, having to admit the whole thing to _him. "We got separated on Saturday tracking possible leads, and Aldarn and I ended up getting chased into this maze of tunnels that didn't connect to the Infinite City. We got lost, and ended up … well, kinda like _we_ did that second night, _qingren._ But we got interrupted by Cedric, who captured us, and when he took us back to where he and Phobos were hiding out, he thought he'd torture the location of the other Guardians out of me by … continuing where Aldarn stopped."_ She looked up at him, her almond eyes haunted.

"Guys? I … I need some air. I'll be right back." Hay stood up, and started for the distant front entrance. _"Eric?" _she sent, having to open her telepathic signal up to the other girls as well to project it to him at that distance. He practically jumped out of his seat to follow her at the tone of terror in her mental voice. She welcomed his arm around her suddenly shaking shoulders as they continued out of Dave & Busters, pausing long enough to get their hands stamped at the door.

The two had walked out to Eric's beat-up Reliant K-car, halfway out across the giant parking lot, before she could stop shaking. She stood unnaturally stiff, though, and he could tell she was still fighting against some of her worst memories. "Hay-hay. You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to. I just want you to be able to get past this, and usually telling somebody helps, y'know?" He pulled her in close reassuringly, and soon, she sighed and relaxed again.

"Thanks, _qingren_. But I really do want to tell you this. More, I think I _need_ to tell you. Especially you." Hay looked up at him, her eyes full of tears. "Just … promise you won't hate me when I'm done, okay?"

Eric pulled her in for a long, tender kiss, feather-light enough not to start her on one of her downward spirals, but loving enough that she couldn't doubt what he said next. "I've already forgiven you anything your 'Drop could have done wrong, _amante_. Just, tell me so you're not carrying it inside anymore; tell me so you can stop hurting, yourself."

"O-okay, here goes, then," she said, boosting herself onto the hood of his car.

(_**Author's note:**__ I'm not going to get into Hay Lin's story to Eric here. For those truly interested in her tale of woe, check out my companion story, "I just can't help myself …" It's an ongoing M-rated exploration of the darker side of Astral Drop mishandling, and will explain several things about this series and their sequel, "Mystic". Enjoy, read, and review. Catch ya on the flipside, A J._)

_w.i.t.c.h._

Taranee had followed the pair out with her telepathy, and was distressed to find they had almost completely left her sensing range without even leaving the parking lot. God, this place was huge. She could tell Hay was calmer now, though, and told the other girls that their youngest Guardian was okay. They'd all gotten worried about her when she took off like that. Fortunately, Eric seemed to be good for her, and _to_ her, in more ways than the obvious. She and Will both smiled at their respective dates in reassurance.

Irma sighed. "Don't worry, guys," she told Joel and Dominic. "Eric'll protect her." _'Even from herself,'_ she added privately. "That boy loves her like flowers love sunshine an' showers." Glancing over at Taranee, she grinned and sent_, "They're probably making out in his car already."_

"_Doubtful, Waves. The guilt finally got to her. She's 'fessing up as we speak. To _all_ of it,"_ Taranee added, when Irma turned to stare right at her. Irma blushed, and Taranee nodded. _"He may love her, but he might not speak to the _rest_ of us ever again."_ Irma gulped and nodded back.

Joel had meanwhile noticed their silent byplay. "What're you two arguing about, Irma? Usually it's Corny we have to keep you away from."

"Don't call me Corny!" the Earth Guardian fired off venomously, and Will jumped nearly a foot next to her, proving that all the girls were still on edge about _something_. Even if they all pretended that Hay was fine, something else was going on ... but what?

"Hey Nigel, let's go see what's keeping Hay and Eric, hmmmm?" Taranee murmured low to her boyfriend. She cast a worried glance to Will, then stood up. Nigel followed her with a muttered curse only Dom heard as they headed towards the door.

Dominic had never mentioned his liaison with Hay to Joel, and he wasn't about to spill the beans now. Instead, he had merely alluded to her many passes as something he'd resisted with Herculean effort. It was mostly true, too; after her first seduction of him, his personal shame had kept his willpower from giving in again. Besides, (though he would never admit it to Eric out loud!) he was just as much in love with her, and the other girls, as Matt, Nigel and Eric.

Now, he realized the trouble Hay Lin had been in back in October must have been part of something larger, and the three guys and the other girls were still trying to protect the Chinese beauty. First they had to throw Joel off the trail though, and the blonde drummer wasn't making it easy.

"Matt, c'mon. I've known you as long as Irma's known Hay Lin. What's going on? What's wrong?" Joel asked, leaning forward over the table earnestly.

"Uh, look man, it's Hay's personal problem, and I just don't think I can really tell you about it without her say-so. Understand?" Matt exchanged a sorrowful look with Will, and she hung her head.

She knew they couldn't keep Hay Lin's hormonal meltdown a complete secret; too many people had been inadvertently entangled with the Air Guardian's sexual misadventures. But to tell anybody the barest hint of the truth behind her bizarre behavior skirted dangerously close to exposure for all the Guardians. They had all agreed back during Hay's week of Hell that no one would ever be told the whole story unless they were already part of their inner circle.

Now they were using that very promise to Hay to fight off the curiosity of one of their best friends. It smacked of a horrible hypocrisy. Joel's simultaneously hurt and confused expression was just a sign of another victim of the madness.

"He's right, Joel. If Hay-hay wants us to know, she'll tell us. It's not like she could keep a secret, anyway," Dom told his blonde-haired friend. The other girls groaned, sharing a look of resignation. While it was true that Hay hadn't let on to any of the people she'd 'involved' herself with that week that her problem was anything other than _loooong_-pent-up hormones, (and her genuinely loving nature thrown into brutal relief,) that she had started to 'play the field' was a distressing rumor she was still trying to live down. The Guardians were just glad that they had thus far escaped undiscovered.

"_Guess I'm just lucky I can convince Martin that some girls need a lot more time away from their guys than others,"_ Irma sent to the other two, then her normally animated features became crestfallen. _"Oh, God, I've done it again,"_ she moaned, starting to pick at her vegetable alfredo forlornly. _"Guess you're not the only one who needs to make facetime with her boyfriend, Corny … lia."_

The Earth Guardian smiled at her Watery friend at the amended sending. "There, there, Irma. You'll get over it … eventually."

Matt and Will meanwhile were holding hands under the table, too nervous to eat anymore, but unwilling to walk out to check on their other friends at the expense of those still at the table. _"Small talk time,"_ Will told him telepathically, then sent out a question to Taranee, figuring the Fire Guardian and Nigel had had enough time to meet up with Eric and Hay Lin.

_w.i.t.c.h._

The four had indeed caught up with each other. Hay was still sitting on the front of Eric's car, crying softly into his shirtfront as he embraced her. She had confessed every sordid detail of her week of wantonness, and now was decompressing noisily while Taranee and Nigel just stood nearby in silent support.

Will's mental query caught up with Taranee, and she sent back their current situation. Nigel walked them around to the back of Eric's Horizon, leaned against the trunk, and pulled her into his arms as well. Fending off the echoes of Hay's guilt and grief, Taranee relaxed slowly against him, sighing. "Think she'll be okay?" he murmured lowly.

"Someday," Taranee answered, giving her Airy friend an encouraging smile around his shoulder. Hay, having heard them both, smiled back shyly, and a pang went through the Fire Guardian at the reversal of their roles. With a great sniff and a final sigh, Hay settled her length firmly against Eric with a tremulous grin. And just like that, the Chinese girl was back to her vivacious self … or as near as she'd been recently.

Taranee gasped at the sudden surge of pure lust that Hay Lin emitted as she dug her hands into Eric's clothes, pulling his shirt out of his jeans and ripping the front of the button-up flannel open in complete disregard of the late January temperatures around them, the eyes of passersby, or his buttons. Then she burrowed her face into his chest, exulting in the roar of his heartbeat as she ran her hands around his back and down his ass to pull him closer.

The Fire Guardian was just barely cognizant of her mimicking of Hay's actions, only brought back to reality at the feel of hairy skin under her fingers and Nigel's gasp of shock at her uncharacteristic brazenness ... and the late January air.

"Holy shit! Taranee, please, don't tell me she's _contagious_ …" He pushed her back to arm's length, giving her an extra shake to clear the superheated fog from her mind.

Slowly coming back to her senses, Taranee blinked up at him in shock, then glared over at the completely unrepentant Air Guardian snuggled into her boyfriend's coat with Eric. Hay had locked her legs behind his thighs as well, and Taranee and Nigel could see the bizarre mix of desire and discomfiture running over his expression.

"You have no shame left, do you?" Taranee teased, trying not to smile at the happy-cat look Hay gave her while shaking her head.

"_The question is, do _you?" Hay returned telepathically, with a nod at the Fire Guardian's handiwork on Nigel's shirt. Taranee flushed as she looked back at Nigel, who was re-securing the few buttons that had survived her copycat maneuver. Taranee, catching sight of his fuzzy chest through the large gaps before he tucked the ruins back in better, couldn't help but think back to the sensory memory of the feel of him under her hands. Her fingers itched to repeat the experience, and she looked back at Hay in aggravation.

"Not anymore, Hay," she muttered in freshly-realized frustration. "Come on, you three, we've got a camping trip to plan." Turning back to the restaurant/arcade, she wended her way unsteadily through the parked cars, fighting down the hot surges of sexual craving Hay had helped awaken in her. She was only vaguely aware of the other three following her at a slightly more sedate pace. This was going to be a _long_ night.


	4. Chapter 4

**Happily Ever After All**

A Mystic Prequel

By: _A J_

(Standard Disclaimer Applies)

**Author's Warning!:** This work of fanfiction is a long-term look at the relationship of two adults, and as such, I'm not gonna pull any punches. This means Language, Nudity, Violence, and Sex! If any of those are not for you, turn back now, and read some of the gentler fictions by others and myself. For those with some fortitude, let's get on to the story.

Chapter 4: _Camping and Conniving_

Dinner got paid for, leftovers got packed up, and the teens all separated to their individual rides long enough to go home and collect their sleepover gear. Hay insisted that Eric drop her off at home as fast as possible, so he could get back to the Observatory and return to her with his camping supplies.

_W_

Susan, who'd been expecting something with the girls to pop up before the weekend was over, just laughed upon hearing about the sleepover and waved her daughter past to grab her backpack full of 'sleepover survival gear', which Will usually kept packed in the corner just inside her bedroom door. Plucking it up, she handed her mother her mostly-uneaten order of Shish kabobs and rice pilaf, and told her "See ya tomorrow night!" with a goodnight kiss.

_I_

"Hey, mom, we're spending the night at the Silver Dragon for Will's birthday party," Irma said as she hurried up the stairs at her house.

"Irma, I thought you five were getting together _tonight_ so you could watch Chris for me _tomorrow_. I've got that morning service to attend, remember?" Anna had recently gotten a job at the nearby Saint Marcellus Reformed Lutheran Church as a substitute organist, while their regular player was out; first with the flu, then a pregnancy with complications.

"Shoot!" Irma sat on the top step, trying to cudgel her brain into a solution-making shape. "Aaaarrgghh! Alright, just, give me twenty minutes to tell the girls I won't be staying, and I'll be right back. But I promised to loan Hay-hay my spare sleeping bag, since hers burst on us last time."

"I thought Hay was a super-seamstress. Why didn't she just repair hers?"

"Ah, well, it kinda got stained with soda at the same time. Both our faults, really, but since I had the spare, I told her not to worry about it." No _way_ was she going to tell her stepmom the actual circumstances, but a promise was a promise, and she was determined to keep this one.

"Alright, just tell her to be careful with this one, and get home safe dear," Anna replied. Irma nodded, grabbed the two sleeping bags from her room and headed back to the Chinese restaurant.

_T_

Taranee breezed into her room, looking for necessities as she circled her bed. Grabbing up her backpack, she started by throwing her school stuff on the end of her bed, then nabbed two durable outfits and a third pair of underclothes. Adding her bathing suit and a beach towel, she debated over her extra toiletries, then just shrugged and nabbed a box of tissues. Worse come to worse, she wouldn't be reduced to using leaves for necessities. Thinking of necessities made her reach into the back of her top vanity drawer for her small box of emergency supplies, and she dropped it in the front of her pack.

On her way back out, Taranee spotted her brother, but not her parents. "Hey, Peter. Where are Mom an' Dad?"

"Hey, T'ree," her older sibling replied, looking up from his sport show. This week was apparently random extreme sports, including street luge. "Their concert ran late, I guess. Did you forget they were going out tonight?" He looked at her worriedly. Taranee never forgot _anything_.

"Huh? No, just didn't know when it was at. Hey, I'm spending the night with the girls at the Dragon. Tell 'em I said goodnight, okay?"

"Sure, T'ree. 'night."

_C_

Lillian jumped Cornelia as she came in the door, a hyperactive ninja-ette in a sky blue pajama outfit. "AY-HAH!" she yelled, leaping onto Cornelia's back from behind the rubber plant next to the coat rack. To the eight-year-old's disappointment, her older sister turned at the last second, and snatched her out of the air, only to fall from the weight of her anyway. They landed tickling each other, and soon Lillian was crying "Uncle! Uncle!"

"You're getting too big for that, brat," Cornelia said, smiling down at her little sister. "You can't hide behind that tree much longer. Soon you'll be taller than it is." She didn't have the heart to tell Lillian the tree had ratted her out to the Earth Guardian, just as she had the sneaking suspicion Napoleon, her sister's cat, had alerted Lillian when Cornelia herself was at the door.

"Hey, Muppet Baby, where're the 'rents?" she asked, and Lillian sat up, still giggling.

"Dad went to pick up dinner, and Mom's downstairs taking care of the laundry," Lillian beamed, smiling her currently crooked grin. Half her teeth had already upgraded. "I'm watching myself!" she continued proudly, while Napoleon 'mrow'd behind her and gave Cornelia a conspiratorial wink.

"Is that so?" Cornelia inquired, smiling back at her sister's familiar. "Well, think I can trust you to continue then, while I get ready for a sleepover at Hay Lin's?"

"Awwww, why don't you guys have sleepovers over here anymore?" Lillian pouted. She missed hanging out with Hay Lin, and Irma was the only girl she'd rather watch fight with her sister besides herself; the brunette was better at it.

"Because you don't give us a moment's peace, brat," Cornelia teased. "See ya in a few." But she didn't. By the time Cornelia was done gathering her sleepover/camping supplies, her mother had come back up from the basement laundry center, and sent the overly rambunctious Lillian to her room to unwind in private before eating. Making her excuses, Cornelia ducked out of more dinner with her parents, and headed back to meet the girls.

_H_

"Here're the sleeping bags, Hay-hay. I won't be joining the expedition into the uncharted wilds of Meridian, unfortunately. Mom's got a gig tomorrow morning, and I'm stuck watching the Red Menace." Irma had started calling her brother Chris that last November when he'd developed a streak of red in his hair at the same time the teens were studying about communism in history class.

Hay pouted cutely, as only she could. "Awwww, but what'll I tell Aldarn?" She'd been determined to see her two friends hook up this weekend, knowing the green-skinned smith had been crushing on her Water-powered friend for forever, and Irma was despairing that she was doomed to dating fellow A/V geeks like Martin and (to a much less geeky extent) Joel.

"Hay Lin!" Irma eyed her perpetually horny best friend, and blushed. "That is _not_ why I was going! Even if the rest of you are thinking with your lower brains as badly as the boys now, it wasn't on my agenda." Irma fumed at Hay for almost a minute before she got a response, and it was _definitely_ not the one she expected.

"You know, I can hear it when you lie. Besides, if you really don't like Aldarn that well, I was gonna tell you you could stay with Eric and me." Hay flushed herself saying this. "I'm not the kind of girl who'd leave her best friend out in the cold on an outing like this." Her blush spread across her forehead and shoulders as she added, "Besides, I kinda feel like I owe it to you … and Eric."

"Whoa, Hay-hay ... _are you pimping us out?"_ Irma hoarsed.

"_NO!"_ Hay Lin was _so_ glad they were having this conversation out behind the restaurant. She didn't think she could live with her grandma overhearing that last exchange. "I just … I just meant, well … I've already gotten to experience a … _a threesome_," she broke into a whisper with the last word, then giggled nervously. "And I wanted to … wellll … share the experience with my two best friends."

"Oh, boy …" Irma managed to say, then the two preoccupied girls became aware of the first of the other arrivals. "Look, if I didn't have to be home - and conscious - first thing in the morning, I'd love to stand here all night debating about that. Let's just … save that discussion for later, okay?" _'MUCH later,'_ Irma thought to herself, setting the pair of sleeping bags down by the back door of the Silver Dragon, and doing her level best not to run screaming from the scene. She couldn't believe it! Her best friend had just propositioned her, _and_ invited her to join Hay and her boyfriend for … Irma shook her head, trying to banish the images that just the suggestion had wrought in her brain.

Passing Taranee and Will on her way back out of the alley, Irma gave them the short, _short_ version of why she had to stay home, silently reciting 'The Jabberwocky' poem in her head to keep from letting slip to Taranee all the billowing confusion in her mind.

Cornelia was just arriving when Irma got back to her car in the public lot down the street. Looking at Irma's 'classic' Yugo (it only qualified because it was over twenty years old) over the handlebars of her electric scooter, the Earth Guardian gave her departing teammate a wave.

Looking for an excuse to end her night on an up-note, Irma slowed as she pulled past and called out, "'night, Corny!"

"Don't call me Corny!" the blonde teen cried after Irma as she puttered away, then shook her head, laughing. The two of them would be doing that act well into their nineties, Alzheimer's willing, and maybe by then, it wouldn't be funny. But she doubted it.

Cornelia rode on to the back door of the Silver Dragon, where Hay held the door open for her. Using her telekinesis, she 'carried' her scooter inside and down to the basement, where she plugged it back in to stay charged while they were gone to Meridian. The other three girls were already pretending to set up for a sleepover in the basement, setting bags of chips and sleeping bags in the corners, while Hay used a gust of wind to spread a blanket across the center floorspace before the small TV/DVD player they'd put down there two years ago for Caleb. It had ostensibly been for him to learn more about Earth culture, so he could fit in better while working in the restaurant. As far as Cornelia could tell, he'd never even turned it on to check the weather.

"Where'd Irma go?"

"Has to watch Chris tomorrow morning," Taranee replied, toeing her backpack of clothes into the space for her pillow.

"Checklist, ladies?" Will called.

"Food, check!" Taranee started, holding up a pair of bags of beef jerky, and pointing out the many bags of chips each girl had brought along.

"Drinks, check!" Hay sang with a hand on a 24-pack of bottled water, having taken over Irma's job since the Water Guardian was out. Her usual contribution, 'entertainment', was hopefully handled already.

"Bedding, check!" Cornelia said, noting most of the girls had two bags, instead of one.

"Heart, check!" Will finished, their own team joke, since invariably something would call them away from one of their personal nights.

"_Tents, check!"_ Hay Lin added mentally, pointing out a pair of wrapped bundles under Caleb's cot in the corner. She did _not_ want her grandma figuring out what they were up to.

"Elyon check," Cornelia said, pulling a padded rectangle out of her duffel bag. Unwrapping it carefully, she opened the wooden case she'd brought from her house. Nestled inside was her most prized possession, a mirror that acted as a communication line with her childhood friend, Queen Elyon of Meridian.

Breathing softly on the glass to fog it up, Cornelia tapped it three times, intoning three words in a whisper. "Weira, Elyon, Miriya." It was a code Elyon had wrought into the mirror when she conjured it, using the past, present, and (hopeful) future Queens' names as a trigger to talk to the Meridianite. Elyon had a similar mirror in her suite keyed to her best friend on Earth, with 'Elizabeth, Cornelia, Isabol'. (Cornelia was a HUGE fan of the movie 'Ladyhawke'.)

The ornate oval mirror misted completely over, including its lilies-and-leaves frame, and Cornelia shivered as her fingers felt the chill of the dimension-linking magic. It wasn't the same thing as a fold, which they usually just got a pleasant static tingle from using. (Though Cornelia supposed that was simply because Will was using her Quintessence to conjure those, and maybe _that_ was the difference.) The chill remained, but the glass cleared, and the other three girls uttered _"Wow!"_s of wonder. Elyon's room in the palace was plainly visible through the frost-ringed portal.

"Elyon? Elly, are you there?" Cornelia called, slowly turning her head right before the mirror. Taranee used her telepathy and 'peeked' through Cornelia's view. Amazingly, it was just like a window, and she found she could see further into the sides of the suite the closer Corny drew 'their' gaze in that direction along the mirror.

Shaking to clear the double exposure out of her sight, Taranee turned to the other girls. "That girl's getting _good_ with her mojo," she said, indicating the mirror.

"Hmmmm, let me try, Cornelia," Hay said after the Earth Guardian got no response from her repeated calling. She grabbed a small electronic device from her backpack, and pressed down on a button on one side. It emitted a strange ring, like a tuning fork, and Hay touched it to the mirror's surface. Clearing her throat, Hay grinned at the other Guardians present, and sing-songed, "Ring, ring, ring, phone call, phone call." The others all looked at her in amazement at the echo effect plainly audible from the other side of the glass. She repeated the funny phrase twice before a young girl from the palace staff appeared across the room. She looked a lot like Irma, the girls noted.

"'allo?" The brown-haired maiden's Northwest district accent was pronounced, reminding the Guardians of a brutal English cockney from a movie weeks ago.

"Alanna? It's Cornelia. Is Elyon back from the southern continent, yet?" The confused maid stepped further into the room, and they all could see when she discovered their visages in the mirror; she practically fainted.

"Th' G'ardians? Oh, blessed Loight, Oi t'ought Oi were hearin' things, Misses. No, Misses, th' Queen's still out, loike as not tryin' t' find somewhere t' dump them blue dumplin's dat nasty Lemmy-chap dropped on us. Th' Lurd'ns don't loike 'em much, Misses." She curtsied, and the girls became aware that she was about their age, which meant she was about Elyon's age, as well.

Grinning at a legitimate reason for their unplanned visit to Metamoor, the Guardians took their leave of Alanna, and circled around to deal with packing up their gear after all, while Cornelia dispelled the mirror's connection with a quiet inversion of the spell, and carefully rewrapped it. Propping it in an out-of-harm's-way corner carefully, she turned to check on the others.

"Progress report?" she asked Will, who was texting on her phone.

"Matt and the others have met up again, and Eric's driving," she responded, with a grin in Hay Lin's direction. The Guardians and their beaus had already come up with a signal so the girls would know when Matt, Nigel and Eric had arrived _without_ alerting Yan Lin.

Just as Hay and Cornelia were pulling the last tent out from under the cot, Yan opened up the door to the basement. "You girls need anything tonight, you'll have to get it yourself. My favorite show just spawned a sister series, and the two-hour premier is starting in two minutes."

"That's okay, Yan, we're going to Meridian in a few minutes," Taranee told her. "Apparently Lemagrag left some of his blue passlings behind, and Elyon doesn't know which dimension Learza is, yet. So we're off to help her with that."

"And since Her Holiness couldn't make it to my dinner party, short as it was between the fight earlier and this, we were gonna spend the night there, partying with royalty." Will's one-sided grin was infectious, and Hay Lin gave a giggle, winding her twin waist-length tails of hair up in buns to imitate Princess Leia. Cornelia and Taranee both laughed. The girls had watched a marathon of all six 'Star Wars' movies just before Hay Lin got the computer-animated 'Clone Wars' for Christmas.

Noticing the tents and sleeping bags, Yan grunted. "If you're expecting to party in the palace, what's all that for?"

"Oh, Elly's out in the southern continent still, where Lemagrag invaded. You know, where all the good beaches are?" Cornelia's Cheshire-cat grin had even Yan chuckling. "So we'll probably camp out with her for the night, and help her get her troops home tomorrow. Then we're gonna talk with the Oracle and the Council, find some possible solutions for grounding that stinking (literally, I don't think his world has discovered soap, yet,) trans-dimensional trouble-maker."

"Well, don't forget your swimsuits, girls. The time-difference between Meridian city and most of the southern continent should give you plenty of tanning-time. Now excuse me, my new favorite show is about to start." With that, the elderly Chinese woman sashayed back upstairs to her room.

"Wow," Taranee sighed. "A guaranteed alibi that actually happens to be true." Over the years, the Guardians had been tested to the limits of their imagination – and their patience – to come up with believable and non-repetitive excuses. But like tonight with Irma, there were always occasions one of them just couldn't get away. Lately, Matt and Elyon had been exploring their various elemental abilities, to help out when one of the others couldn't, with wildly varied results.

Elyon was better with her telekinetic control of stuff, like Water and Earth, and had almost as good a handle on her telepathy as Taranee did. Matt was more a raw firepower and fighting specialist, and could fly nearly as well as Hay Lin, if a bit less gracefully. They also had found that, by concentrating on a specific element, either Heart could transform one Guardian in an emergency, though they learned the hard way that the girl's use of her individual abilities were hampered slightly without the direct involvement of the Heart of Candracar.

One other thing Matt was becoming an expert at, partially through prolonged proximity with Will, was using the boost of Quintessence to talk with electrical items, including cell phones. He used that trick now to contact Will through her phone in the basement of the Silver Dragon.

"_Miss Will, your paramour has requested us to tell you …"_ her phone began in a tinny voice only she and Hay Lin could make out.

"Thanks, Marianna," Will said hurriedly. "Just tell them we'll be right up, please." Her newest phone (she'd lost the last one in the midst of one of their battles with Phobos during Hay's Week of Hell,) was a worse chatterbox than the Air Guardian given any leeway, so she made a point of heading it off before the fact now.

"And with that, we cue the music," Taranee deadpanned, borrowing one of Irma's favorite lines. Hay giggled and started whistling _"Takin' Care of Business"_ while the four girls finished hefting their camping gear and headed back up the stairs to rendezvous with their waiting boyfriends.


	5. Chapter 5

**Happily Ever After All**

A Mystic Prequel

By: _A J_

(Standard Disclaimer Applies)

**Author's Warning!:** This work of fanfiction is a long-term look at the relationship of two adults, and as such, I'm not gonna pull any punches. This means Language, Nudity, Violence, and Sex! If any of those are not for you, turn back now, and read some of the gentler fictions by others and myself. For those with some fortitude, let's get on to the story.

Chapter 5: _Cornelia and Caleb_

Caleb was stomping through the lower floor of the castle proper in Meridian, cursing softly as he flipped through yet another guard shift roster. He couldn't stand the monotony of being stuck in Meridian when his Queen was off saving their world. Worse, he hated being saddled with _paperwork_ when he could be doing anything … _anything!_ … more constructive, like latrine digging, or bandage weaving, or …

Caleb threw down the roll of parchment sheets, and they sluiced apart to spread out in the corridor around him. Swearing, he whirled to throw a punch at the nearest wall, only to pull his blow back at the last moment when he found himself facing Her Highness' late mother, Queen Weira. Uncomfortably stiff under the portrait's unblinking attention, he bowed with a blush towards it, then knelt to regather his wandering paperwork.

'_Cornelia would be proud of you _now_,_' he told himself with a derisive snort. The errant thought made him almost rend the parchment again. That he didn't only made him madder. _'Showing you're responsible beyond hefting a sword and hieing off after Guardians as 'ground support in eventual need of rescuing' should _really_ endear you,'_ he added derisively. His swearing became a self-slandering monotone as he finished collecting the scattered sheets and resumed his bone-jarring march to the guard station by the front gate of the palace.

Hurriedly flipping back through the pile for the dozen he'd already selected originally, he put them back on top, and walked into the main gate guardhouse with purpose in his step, if not in his heart. He looked out the western window, to note that the sun was just setting. _'Huh,'_ he noted. _'If I'm right, that means it's just after noon on the southern plains, and those troops not actively rounding up loose Frums are probably already restless just sitting on the ones they've already caught.'_

No sooner were the words framed in his mind to be promptly forgotten in favor of the next 'managerial emergency' someone would foist off on him, when an immense fold appeared across the grounds at the foot of the castle.

"Guards! To Arms!" Caleb screamed, drawing his favorite longsword from its sheath on his back, and shrugging out of his long coat. The heavy thing would just get in the way if this came down to a battle in the portcullis archway. He noted with pride the half-dozen 'old hands' who immediately snapped to with weapons drawn in a row beside him, including Drake. His father's best lieutenant (and his first instructor in the use of blades) grinned at him.

"See, lad? Told'ja we wouldn't be bored forever. Bet this is ol' Lemmy, thinking he can sneak one past our Light while she's still busy cleaning up his last mess." Drake drew an appreciative thumb down the business edge of his sword, letting a drop of blood loose on the blade. It was an old Metamoor superstition: that one should let their weapon taste blood before being resheathed, even if it was only drawn for show instead of battle. Caleb turned back to face their unknown visitor, inwardly saddened that the practice had never taken hold in his teachings. He'd seldom had chances to draw his sword without an ample supply of enemies to wield it against.

The pikemen were just extending their polearms past the waiting front rank of swordsmen, in preparation for an enemy charge, when the first being stepped through the fold below.

The unsure ranks behind them let loose a rousing cheer as Field Commander Vathek emerged from the flowing blue magical doorway. Perched atop his shoulders was his green 'squire', Blunk the Brave. Blunk waved wildly in enthusiastic thanks of their welcome as the first well-trained ranks of 'Meridian Irregulars' marched in formation from the fold behind them. Drake and Caleb grinned at each other, and sheathed their swords. Nabbing his coat back up from the corner he'd tossed it into, Caleb was drawing it back on when an unexpected fall of golden blonde hair swept past the corner of his vision.

"Hey, soldier, buy a Guardian a drink?" dulcet tones asked. Caleb turned to look behind the pillar to the left of the entrance, and there she was: his personal demon, disguised as an angel, wings and all. Never mind that the wings were small and pixie-like, or that her smoldering gaze threatened to boil the blood from his veins even as it raced strait for the wrong end of his body.

His biggest challenge in dealing with her had always been that he could never keep his mind on matters at hand whenever she looked at him like that. Granted those looks had been few and far between before Earth's Halloween last fall, when Hay Lin had guaranteed the Earth Guardian and her adopted brother from Meridian were finally more than fighting friends. Cornelia's sudden blush as she noticed the quickening of his breath meant she was thinking of exactly the same thing. He smiled disarmingly, trying to reign in his raging hormones long enough to extend a gentlemanly arm.

"_Certainement, mademoiselle,"_ he uttered, suddenly glad of the year he'd tried to take classes at Heatherfield. He'd have never learned any of the magic language of French otherwise. He was gratified at her lighthearted laugh, and when she floated forward to settle her arm in his, he was surprised anew at their new height difference.

Initially taller than the younger girl, he'd always loved that their height difference was mitigated by Cornelia's Guardian transformation. Last fall, she'd gotten a growth spurt that made her taller than Caleb in both her forms. He hadn't seen her in almost a month now, and was slightly relieved that working out in his native world had helped him grow a couple inches himself. He guessed his build was now somewhere in between her normal Earth height and her current Guardian stature.

As she settled to the ground, the differences in their footwear eliminated even that, and she looked straight into his eyes in demure delight. "Nice to see you again, Caleb," Cornelia started, and leaned in to give him a chaste kiss to each cheek. The earlier meeting at Dave & Buster's between Will and Daphne had given her the inspiration, and since he'd opened the conversation with French, she knew he'd recognize the gesture. She leaned away again to study his face better, and smiled when he did at the European custom.

"Likewise, Cornelia." He leaned in again to give her a long, slow, _real_ kiss. She slowly melted against him, looping her arms around his neck even as his circled her waist to draw her closer, until she gave a soft chuckle and rocked her hip against the hard length at his center.

"Mmmm, my, have you missed my company that badly, or is that just another weapon in your arsenal, my good sir knight?" she teased. A chorus of laughter nearby made Caleb spin to look, only to be faced by three of the other Guardians and their long-time boyfriends.

"Please, don't mind us," Hay said from the secure warmth of Eric Lyndon's arms. "We were just beginning to enjoy the show." She winked naughtily at Caleb and Cornelia, and the two flushed at the inadvertent reminder of how she'd 'helped' them their first night together. Will, Matt, Taranee and Nigel all glanced away in embarrassment; they'd heard the tale secondhand, and all four were still too new to intimacy themselves to keep the images from giving them all way more to think about than they'd bargained for. Eric was paying too much attention to Hay's own slow-squirming form across the front of him to notice the fresh chagrin the Earth Guardian and the former rebel leader were suffering through.

"Alright, while I can honestly say it's always a great honor to host the Guardians in Meridian City, I've got to wonder why the rest of you are here," Caleb said, giving them all a straightforward look once he'd regained his composure. He glanced around at the group, and back at Cornelia. "Where is our rambunctious Water Guardian, for that matter? Was she injured fighting Lemagrag?"

"As if," Cornelia countered with a pout. "She had to go home to watch her brat brother while her mom and dad both're working tomorrow morning. Why so curious about Irma, Caleb? Looking to trade me in for a less challenging companion?" She mock glared at him when he squinted at her calculatingly. Then he pulled her in and swept her low for another deep kiss, like something from an old movie. The image was made even more complete with his long coat, and her sweeping skirt and flowing sleeves. Hay Lin uttered an _'Awwww,'_ at the sight, and leaned back into Eric, turning her head to kiss him as well.

"Definitely not thinking of doing without you in my life," Caleb said jauntily once he'd stood the two of them upright again. "I find I like a challenge. Besides," he said, with another glance at the others. "I wouldn't dream of stealing Irma from Martin … or Aldarn."

"HA! I _told_ you!" Hay spouted, grinning up at Eric, then back at Cornelia. "Now if we can just get the two of them together so he can tell her, everything would be perfect!" Taranee rolled her eyes, while Will and Cornelia both shook their heads, and the four guys laughed.

"You aren't gonna be happy until everybody's 'hooked up', are you, Hay-hay?" Taranee accused, giggling.

Hay looked at the way Taranee was leaned back across Nigel's chest in an unconscious mirror of her own form's full-body caress of Eric. Her grin was slow and licentious. "Hmmmm, I guess I would have to say … _nope!"_ The others all laughed again, and she tilted her head up to kiss Eric again.

"If she went home, why are the rest of you still here?" Caleb rearranged his question. "Not that I'm complaining, mind," he continued hastily, at the injured look Cornelia gave him. At least she didn't let go of his arm.

"Well, we were gonna spend the night in the Silver Dragon, y'know, just a girl's sleepover like old times, for Will's birthday, when we heard that Elyon still had a bunch of disowned Frums loose in the southern continent, and she didn't know how – or where – to send 'em home. So we came back to help her get them to the right dimension, and since we were already gonna spend the night together somewhere anyway, Taranee suggested we just camp out on the beach in southern, and we decided to invite the guys along. And since we were there already, we figured we would help Elyon get the troops home with a larger fold, and so now we're here to see if you want to go camping _with_ us!" Hay Lin paused to breathe, and Caleb exchanged a glance with Cornelia, then one with Matt, his first _male_ friend from Earth. Matt grinned back.

"All true, man, if a little out of order." He gave a toss of his head towards the fold, which was now shrunk down to half its original size, and was admitting the two supply wagons Elyon had taken along with her volunteer army of Meridianites and Lurdens. Behind them came the two 'hospital' wagons, one of which was now missing its distinctive white canopy with the red cross-marks on each side. Elyon had decided on the markings for the medicinal supply wagons based on something from Earth. Caleb didn't know what a 'Mash' had to do with healing, except as a type of poultice, but it must have been meaningful back in Heatherfield. _He_ thought their crosses looked like targets.

"Yeah, we've got a ton of junk food, sleeping bags for everybody, and four tents all back on the other side of that on a little sun-lit beach just waiting for us," Nigel said, and Caleb looked back at the young troublemaker-turned-musician who'd won the heart of the beautiful Fire Guardian.

Caleb blinked a couple times, trying to remember when he'd been that carefree. Then it came back to him. The last Earth 'Fort of Julie' holiday, when Hay had volunteered to take his afternoon shift at the Silver Dragon since Eric was out of town. She'd told him to go and enjoy the bright summer day with Cornelia and the others for her, and he had, trying to see the many Earth holiday festivities with Hay's characteristic wonderment. At first it had scared the others that the usually taciturn young warrior had been acting so uncharacteristically 'up', but when he'd told them later that day of Hay's directive, they'd all smiled, and told him that he really was Hay Lin's brother, no matter what world he may have been born on. Caleb grinned now as he had at hearing that back then, and turned to give Cornelia a quick kiss.

"Give me two minutes, _Idazmi._ I'll be right back." He kissed her again, then dashed into the castle, yelling for Vathek.

"What did he call you?" Will asked, seeing the sappy look Cornelia was sending after Caleb.

"_Idazmi,"_ the Earth Guardian breathed. "It's from an old Meridian story, kinda their version of Romeo and Juliet, only with a lot less killing of each other's relatives," she added. She turned back to the others. "Caleb told it to me months ago. In fact, almost a year ago, for Valentine's Day. You know he still doesn't get the idea behind most of our holidays. But last year, he was taking that semester with us in Sheffield, and I guess he asked Mr. Collins about the real meaning behind the holiday, since he kept hearing all us girls making such a big deal about it.

"Apparently, Dean told him about the true St. Valentine, and that the holiday was supposed to be about the love of the couple for each other. Well, the day before, he told me straight out that he wasn't getting me anything silly like chocolate or flowers, and I certainly didn't expect he'd get me jewelry, 'cause he still was using any wages the Lins gave him to help people back here that Phobos had hurt the worst, like those he'd turned into Murmurers.

"Anyway, he picked me up on Valentine's and we walked to that old theater that shows classic movies all the time, and for Valentine's Day they were playing 'Romeo and Juliet', the good one from the sixties, and we sat through that, and then we went back to the Silver Dragon for dinner. While we were eating, he told me Meridian's version, 'Tantris and Idazmi'. I really can't do it justice, you guys, 'cause I don't remember it all, but maybe we can get him to tell it to the rest of you tonight while we're camping. It's really beautiful." She sighed again just as Caleb ran back up to meet them.

He had an old rucksack over his shoulder, filled with random outdoor gear, and was carrying a pair of staves. Nigel groaned, but Eric smiled. They both knew what those were for. Caleb had determined to teach them at least the basics of fighting since they both insisted on being involved (as much as they could from the safety of the ground, anyway) in the Guardians' protective duties. The teen heroes had found out the painfully hard way that while Eric had a positive flair for the use of the staff, Nigel was much better off with shorter weapons. He had proven his worth with the blade just before Thanksgiving though, helping to defend Earth – and the Earth Guardian – during one of their recent clashes with Lemagrag.

Since then, the two boys had been practicing as often as Caleb remembered to make them, along with Matt and Irma. The latter two had decided that they wanted to be able to fight normally for instances when their magical skills were impractical, or worse, unusable. Irma had gotten her dad to get her a pair of the older police batons, the plain club-shaped ones without the handle on the side. Matt and Nigel had pooled their saved tip money and birthday cash to buy a set of oriental shinai, which were a kind of practice katana made of bamboo bands.

Eric had simply gone to the park below Observatory Hill after the first big storm in November, right after he'd found out about the Guardians, and brought home the stoutest, straightest staff-length branch that he could find, and done his best with it in woodworking class. When he'd caught Hay Lin messing around with it during one of her sporadic 'Shaolin Wannabe' workouts, he had made her a staff as well. They'd both improved in fits and starts since then. (Whenever their work-outs didn't end up as _make-_outs, anyway!)

Now, she smiled in echo of him as she used a gust of Air to push the staves from Caleb's grip, and nab them herself. "C'mon, _qingren,_ let's get our workout out of the way." She and Eric raced back towards the fold, both stopping long enough to give Elyon quick farewell hugs before disappearing back to the southern continent. Taranee visibly relaxed against Nigel.

"Finally; Something to distract her!" she murmured. She turned to face her boyfriend, and ran her hands through his hair for a moment. "Don't think you're getting away from me tonight, Mister Ashcroft. I'm just glad I can think about this clearly again."

Will echoed Nigel's "What do you mean?"

Taranee nodded to where her teammate's hands were intertwined with Matt's. "Don't tell me you haven't noticed that 'lovey-dovey' vibe she's been putting out since we left Dave & Buster's. Or should I be calling it a 'jump-each-other!' vibe?" The Fire Guardian was still remembering her uncontrolled mimicking of Hay Lin's attack on Eric's clothes in the entertainment complex's parking lot. She looked over the damage she'd done to Nigel's own shirt in the throws of Hay's spell. He was still missing three buttons, and had tucked in the ends haphazardly so she could get a peek at the band of his boxers above his jeans. Taranee blushed, thinking of what else she'd learned during that episode.

"T … _please_ stop that," Cornelia said, her own cheeks pink-tinged. She had her hands firmly clenched behind her back, and she was squirming and starting to perspire and breathe heavy. _"You're SENDING, girlfriend,"_ she added telepathically, and Taranee blushed harder herself.

"Okay, back to the campground everybody," Will directed, her fingers drawing slow circles across her own abdomen with Matt's still intermixed. "While any of us can still think clearly, I'd like to get the tents up."

"Hear, hear," Cornelia seconded, and fairly dragged Caleb behind her towards the fold to southern. Elyon was still directing the exit of the last few stragglers and the bearers of wounded troops through the aperture in space, and paused long enough to give Cornelia a goodnight hug and Caleb a salute of dismissal, both with a smug smirk.

"Take care, you two." With a grin, she added to Cornelia telepathically, _"and _try_ not to become a statistic."_ Cornelia blushed harder, and gave her best friend an extra quick hug.

"_At least not before you find somebody just as great, Elly. Then we can see who gets to be an Aunt first."_ Cornelia ducked through the fold, Caleb in tow.

"I heard that," Taranee said as she, Nigel, Will and Matt came abreast with the young Queen of Meridian. "So, is there anybody we should know about?" she asked Elyon, who blushed.

"Noooo …" Elyon answered, leadingly. "Although not for lack of Alchemy and Hay-hay trying to set me up with every guy in their Drama and Art classes." She shook her pale blonde head, making the rings at the ends of her pigtails 'ting' against each other. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a date _here?_ As the _Queen?" _she added in a fierce whisper. The other four chuckled quietly.

"Just keep your chin up, Your Holiness," Taranee returned with a grin, remembering Will's line from earlier. "Eventually, you'll meet some drop-dead gorgeous guy who won't care whether you're the Queen of the Universe. Well, _this_ universe, anyway. Now excuse us, we're off to an evening of personal gratification." She and Will each hugged Elyon goodbye, and the Queen gave Matt an energy-laced Heart's high-five. Then the four stepped through the fold just as the last few troops returned from the southern beaches.

"That does it," Elyon said to herself. "I refuse to graduate from high school a virgin." She went back up to her apartments deep in thought, trying to picture any of the many boys she'd been introduced to over the last two years from Earth, Meridian, and Elsewhere, as the One. Not even the One she'd stay with, mind. Just the One she'd be willing to start with. A shudder ran through her still-delicate frame. "Okay, so, still, two-and-a-half years, though. Plenty of time, right?" She plopped down on her gigantic bed, noticing for the first time just how lonely the great expanse of silk-covered softness was.

"Grrrreat," she grumbled, "Now they're contagious!" She went to bed, refusing supper no matter how much her maid Lareena cajoled. Her head was too preoccupied with a different kind of hunger.


	6. Chapter 6

**Happily Ever After All**

A Mystic Prequel

By: _A J_

(Standard Disclaimer Applies)

**Author's Warning!:** This work of fanfiction is a long-term look at the relationship of two adults, and as such, I'm not gonna pull any punches. This means Language, Nudity, Violence, and Sex! If any of those are not for you, turn back now, and read some of the gentler fictions by others and myself. For those with some fortitude, let's get on to the story.

Chapter 6: _Camping & Couples_

They'd gone from the depths of winter in Heatherfield, through a cool twilight in Meridian, to the sultry early afternoon in the southern continent's mid-summer. Most of the teens immediately followed Hay and Eric's example of losing the topmost layer of clothing, and started setting up their tents. The Air Guardian and her boyfriend stopped their sparring long enough to lend a hand, and once all their personal shelters were erected, the two grabbed their borrowed staves back up.

"Loser goes first?" Hay said, repeating their agreed-upon win from when they'd started. Eric just grinned, and peeled off his sweat-marked shirt. Taking in his dusky six-pack, Hay looked down at her own chest. With a wicked grin, she yanked off her own top, letting a summoned gust carry it conveniently to the door of their tent. Her barely-there breasts shone in the westering Metamoor sun as two points on her otherwise-streamlined body. Shaking the last of the sand out of her hair from her most recent tumble, she gave Eric a feral grin.

"Aw, no fair, Hay-hay. How'm I gonna concentrate on dumping your perky ass in the sand when all I can think about is your delicious …" He never got to complete his salacious comment, as she jumped forward, swinging her staff like a baseball bat, still grinning. He parried in a hurry, and the two _'thwock'_ed wood back and forth for several tense seconds.

Staves locked together, chest heaving with exertion against her larger opponent, skinny Hay leaned the extra centimeter forward so their shoulders made contact for privacy. _"Now you know what _my_ brain feels like all the time, thanks to my horny other half,"_ she sent, grinning through her sweat. With a heave, she shoved off and did a back-flip away from him, landing neatly next to where Nigel and Taranee were distractedly trying to build the four couples a campfire. Taranee groaned, swayed, and shot a look of frustration at Nigel, then Hay.

"Okay, apparently there's a range to her 'jump 'em!' aura, and she just brought it to _US!"_ she growled, her free hand slowly grasping Nigel's closer leg, and sliding towards his hip. He gulped.

"_Fight it, Firecracker. We've got all night."_ She looked at him at the still-new nickname, then giggled. "Hey, at least we've got a way to cool down if it gets to be too much," he continued out loud, nodding at the distant ocean. Without Irma around, the teens had picked their camping spot more for the relative privacy granted by the surrounding groves of palm-like trees, instead of trying to figure out the tidal threats closer to the ocean.

"_You know what?"_ Taranee told him, giving another glare in Hay's direction as the lithe girl traded renewed blows with her sparring partner, to the enthusiastic cheering of the other four. _"Just finish the rock circle, and we'll go look for driftwood. I'm gonna go change into my suit."_ Nigel nodded back, grinning, and she jogged raggedly for their tent and her backpack.

Matt and Caleb, thoroughly in love with the girls clinging to each of them, were still guy enough to appreciate tiny Hay's perfect female form flitting topless back and forth across the beach and trying to wallop Eric with a staff. In between yelling out advice to both combatants, Caleb was quietly running his fingers over Cornelia's back under her shirt. She tensed for a second initially, but smiled and sighed as his touch turned soothing, massaging her spine on its way up. He reached her bra soon enough, and their eyes met briefly. Under the guise of sitting forward to yell another target to Hay Lin, Cornelia set her shoulders back, long enough for his nimble fingers to flip the clasp of the restraining garment apart. She settled back against him with a sly grin, and reaped the rewards of his renewed micromassaging.

"_I'll get your back after dinner," _she promised him silently_. "And your front, and your legs, and your …"_ Caleb silenced even that voice with a sudden kiss.

Taranee emerged from her tent, clothed in her new swimsuit, with her towel wrapped at her waist like a sarong. Her feet hit the sand with a faint hiss, making Matt, Will and Nigel all look up. "Anybody else up for a quick dip?" The Fire Guardian asked, aiming a thumb at the undulating waves in the distance. Nigel, circle of stones for their firepit finished, stood up and dusted the sand back off his hands.

"Darlin', you couldn't keep me away with a horde of Frums," he drawled. They all looked over as Hay laughed.

"That's better than Eric's, and he grew _up_ there," Hay said, grinning and bracing her feet as Eric tried to sweep her. The pair traded another flurry of blows, ending up shoulder to shoulder again, then both dropped their staves to the sand. "Be right behind you," she added, and jumped into Eric's arms bridal-style.

"You're gonna be black and blue and sore all over tomorrow, _amante."_ Eric nuzzled her neck as he walked the pair of them back to their tent to grab the towels he'd thought to bring along, originally for more pragmatic reasons than swimming.

"Only if Will's unwilling to transform us all in the morning," she said just loud enough her Leader could hear it. Hay sent to her and the other two Guardians,_ "Something tells me I'm not the only one who's going to be bruised unrecognizable before the end of the night, eh Will?"_ with a wink. Cornelia and Caleb, picking up the discarded staffs, could only smile in acknowledgement as they faced off themselves.

"First one down stays there," Cornelia said with a smirk, twirling her weapon. Unknown to the boys, she'd been spending part of her weekly visits with Zamballan Ambassador Kadma learning staff-fighting as well as some of the finer points of Earth conjuration. It helped the elder former Guardian keep in shape, and it gave her some joy to pass on the completely unique fighting style she'd learned in her years among the arboreal residents of Zamballa.

"Much as I'd love to stick around to see if Corny sheds like Hay did, I'd love a swim myself," Matt chuckled.

"Don't … _call … _me … _CORNY!"_ the Earth Guardian demanded, punctuating each word with a thrust or swing towards Caleb, who backed away, but the final one stopping mere inches from Matt's nose, and only quivering because of the material of the staff. Matt gulped at her superb control, and held his hands up in surrender.

"Got it Cornelia," he muttered, eyeing the staff. She smiled sweetly, and swung it back towards Caleb before he got any ideas.

"He's a keeper," she blurted to Will between thrusts and parries. "He's trainable." Will laughed as she grabbed her own towel out of her 'sleepover survival pack'. Years of unexpected food fights, and Guardian detours (and the resulting necessary emergency follow-up showers,) had taught her the same thing the Boy Scouts always preached: be prepared.

"I know," she told Cornelia, when the other two paused for a second. "And cute to boot!" She and Matt headed for the waterline, leaving C and C to their own devices.

Not to be outdone, Caleb subtly took charge of their fight, steering the pair of them towards the beachhead as well while they sparred. Cornelia's first clue she was being herded was when her foot got tangled in Taranee's discarded towel mere yards from the ocean. Setting her staff to hold his for a second, she kicked the terry-cloth menace away and glared at him.

"Oho, so _that's_ how it's gonna be, huh Mister Hart?" Caleb cringed at the reminder of his assumed name in Sheffield last year. They'd had to have _some_ last name to put on his school records. Then he grinned.

"New rule," he said, renewing his driving of her towards the water. "First one wet gets to _wait."_ He leered as he swung wide, making her take another step back towards the ocean.

"Oh, it's on," she hissed with a grin, and in a sudden flurry of attacks, had regained a dozen steps, and now had them locked together parallel to the shore. He eyed her soft hands appreciatively, noticing for the first time the faint callusing visible on palm and fingertips from long practice with a weapon.

"You've been holding back on me, Miss Hale," he accused, pushing away. She reversed the spin of her staff to catch the back of his knee, a move he just barely blocked in time.

"Glad you noticed," she panted. "Means I can quit taking it easy." With another twist of her staff and a switch of her feet, she completed her trip, and sent him swaying to one knee. "That doesn't count. Flat, or nothing. But I'll give you a few seconds to decide whether to call it now, to save your ego." Caleb growled, and leaped up to swing his staff back towards her. Their weapons cracked against each other, bringing them face to face.

"Not in this match," he said with a grin, and leaned forward and kissed her. He used the distraction to swing them both ninety degrees, and pushed her back at the waterline. She was too busy getting her staff back between them to notice, until her foot made a _'splash'._ The look of horror and fury on her face was priceless.

"You … you cheated!" she yelled, and charged him, staff straight out like a lance. He swung his own up at the last second, driving hers out and away, and swatted her on the ass with his free hand as she went by.

"_Ole!"_ the other Guardians and their boyfriends all called from the surf, having watched the final exchange of blows with relish. The girls had all heard about her extra lessons with Kadma, and had been eager to see how far she had come. The result had been foreseeable, though, so they'd all just enjoyed the show.

Cornelia, knowing when she was beat, chose to rise above. Throwing the staff back to Caleb, she gave him a _salaam_ bow. "I await you, my lord." She twirled on one foot, and shuished back to their tent with a straight back. Unable to resist though, she called back over her shoulder. "I'd rather swim after, anyway, when all the kiddies are out of the pool."

Caleb expertly tossed the staves on top of the others' towels and discarded clothes, to keep them from blowing away in the wind Hay's moods were constantly kicking up, and followed his golden goddess with a grin.

The other six watched them go with grins of their own. Hay knew they hadn't been together in over a month, and she could feel the energy between them well before they'd gotten to this southern beach. "She'll get hers, now that he's gotten his," she told them, and squealed when Eric tackled her back into the next wave. They came up sputtering and kissing, trying to swim facing each other. Matt and Will went back to their leisurely floating, fingertips just touching as they let the surf carry them back and forth. Nigel turned back to Taranee, the only one in a real bathing suit. (The others were down to their underwear, and brazen Hay to even less, swimming around in just her silver thong.)

"So much for a little private swim," Nigel said. At least he was still able to smile about it, Taranee mused in frustration.

"You know, there's lots more beach," she countered, with a nod in both directions. They eyed both ways, then with a nod, set off towards a low promontory far enough away that the others (hopefully) wouldn't hear all that they planned to do to each other. Taranee detoured long enough to grab her towel from where Cornelia had kicked it, and the two went away hand in hand.

_w.i.t.c.h._

Caleb and Cornelia came back down to the beach about an hour later, to find Will and Matt zoned out sunning on the beach, and Eric floating out in the cove, apparently alone. Noticing all the discarded clothing, Cornelia looked around. Nigel and Taranee had apparently headed off for some privacy, so she wasn't too worried about them. That just left …

"Hey Eric! Where's Hay Lin?" Caleb roared before she could. It only made sense for him to be on the lookout for his adopted 'little sister'. (Now if they could just get matchmaker-crazy Hay-hay from trying to make it actual by getting Yan and Julian together!) Eric gave them both a look like a trapped animal from where he floated, out far enough he was just a pair of arms and a head bobbing in the waves. His embarrassed glance downward told them both _way_ more than they wanted to know about the adventurous Air Guardian's sex life, and the two Cs hastily averted their eyes.

"Will, you know which way Nigel and Taranee went?" Cornelia asked quietly. The red-haired Leader of the Guardians opened one eye lazily.

"Why, looking to interrupt them too?" she muttered with a smirk. "Notice none of us came to take our revenge for the 'kiddie' remark. I think that shows how wrong you were."

"Wrong on both counts, Red. One, I want to go whichever way they didn't, so we don't, and two, I know you people way too well. You'll just get your revenge later in some even more childish way, hence proving me correct all along." Cornelia fanned her hair. Will rolled her eye.

"Whatever. They went that way," she said, looking to the left, towards a visible promontory. The two Guardians and Caleb could see a dark piece of cloth fluttering in the breeze in that direction, and Cornelia recognized it as Nigel's boxers, barely held to the ground with a rock. With a blush, Cornelia gave the rock a mental nudge, setting it more firmly in the center of the escaping clothes so they wouldn't get lost.

"Okay, then, right it is," Caleb said with a grin. The pair were turning to head that way when Hay popped to the surface out by Eric, a naughty grin on her face.

"Your turn," she told her boyfriend with a giggle, and with a kiss, pushed his head below water. Seeing the two recent re-arrivals on the beach, she waved merrily, then giggled again when Eric got to where she'd sent him.

Cornelia and Caleb both hurried away, cheeks red at the ideas the sight of free-spirited Hay and her thoroughly (happily) whipped boyfriend had given them. "Those two are gonna be the death of us yet," Caleb predicted cheerily.

"Cram it, rebel-boy. You weren't any better twenty minutes ago, when you told me to … how was that? 'Show you how well I can _really_ wield a staff'?"

"Which you did. And it was _very_ well," he grinned. She shoved playfully at his shoulder.

"And now I've got to wash it all off so the others can't tell with a glance what kind of naughty games you like to play in private, Oh Great Hero." She grinned back though, and they both smiled as they headed out into the surf, shedding their clothes and inhibitions on the way.

_w.i.t.c.h._

Matt woke back up with a start, and hissed when he turned towards Will. The back of his arm was stinging red, and he could see that Will's shoulders were almost as bad. She looked up at his hiss.

"What is it? Bug bite you?" she asked.

"No, but the sun did." He turned his shoulder to show her, and winced. "Looks like it took a nibble at you, too. Your shoulders almost match your hair." Will looked wildly down and over to both sides, and swore.

"Great. Mom'll never believe that I got too close to a microwave at the Dragon. This looks like I leaned into a tanning bed." She huffed the red hair in question out of her eyes.

"You could always tell her you hung out over a wok too long, cooking a midnight snack," Hay said from behind them. She and Eric were coming in from their swim, grinning unrepentantly in their nakedness. Will looked away with a blush, her cheeks now blending the space 'twixt hair and shoulders. Eric beamed; he'd nothing to be ashamed of. Matt laughed.

"Do you mind, you hedonists?" Cornelia said from several yards away. Caleb, following behind with a string of fish, waved cheerily.

"Nothing wrong with showing a moon to the sun," he said. Cornelia rolled her eyes.

"So long as you remember to SPF to death first," Will said with a grimace, shaking her toasting shoulders. She looked around until she found her and Matt's discarded shirts, tossed him his, and pulled her tiny-tee back on. She gasped when the dark blue material, as sun-warmed as herself, hit her shoulders. Yanking it right back off, she swore. "Okay, I guess it's full Monty all around," she said with a grin, looking down at her (thankfully!) tan sports bra. Matt, Caleb and Cornelia, all down to their own skivvies, laughed, and the two newbie nudists just grinned, holding hands.

"Are our missing pair still over the hill?" Caleb asked, looking around.

Everyone turned to Hay, who cocked her head, listening for a second. "Huh. I can't tell! The surf's louder than they are … unless they headed back up to the tents."

"Only one way to be sure," Will said, grabbing the Heart of Candracar out of her discarded jeans' pocket. Holding it up, she concentrated for a second, and an image of Taranee swirled inside. She was still outside, on the sand, and … she grinned. Nigel was curled up spoon-style against her back, and the pair were (Will had to give more smart points to Taranee for this one) wrapped up in the towel Taranee had brought from Heatherfield like a two-person burrito. "Awwww," she murmured, smiling at the image.

"What? _What?"_ Cornelia and Hay both cried, stepping forward, and trying to see what Will saw in the mystical jewel. Getting hold of the other two girls with her free hand, she extended the vision to them, and they both sighed in unison, smiling. The three girls exchanged glances, then Will let the image fade, and they all started off towards the hill with grins. The boys, mystified, followed behind.

The six teens got to the knoll and peeked over. Lying wrapped up in her towel together, Taranee and Nigel were spooned, asleep, and smiling gently.

"Should we wake them?" Hay Lin asked softly.

"No point yet," Caleb told his 'little sister'. "Dinner'll be a while." He held up the fresh-caught fish, still in need of cleaning.

"Oooooh! I'll help!" the Air Guardian chirped. Will and Cornelia both clapped a hand over the excitable girl's mouth, and the teens all ran for it.

_w.i.t.c.h._

Nigel and Taranee stirred, roused by the noise. "Wohoppen?" Nigel asked, looking up. He thought he saw someone moving on the hill they were hidden behind, but they were gone before his eyes could focus.

"Ju …_'Yaawwwwn!'_ … just the others, being nosy," Taranee murmured, turning over and nuzzling into his fuzzy, Irish-red chest. "They went to cook dinner. Hope you like fresh fish."

"Only one way to find out," he suggested naughtily, slowly kissing his way down her body. He may have been immune to the common locker-room behavior in their school, but that didn't mean he didn't listen to the idiot jocks and their bragging. He'd heard all the stories, good and bad, including some of the less savory rumors about Hay-hay. But some of the better things he had listened in on were tips to get girls just as riled-up as their mere presence did to guys.

As he reached the damp curls at the lower end of her body, he felt her shudder in anticipation. "Should we take a quick dip, first?" he asked, reminding her of how they'd spent the last hour.

"Just …" She gulped, and nodded. "Just in case." He helped her up, and straightened the towel out flat again as she ran for the ocean nearby. The tide had moved in, he noticed, and he saw she was right to move them up the beach when she had.

Nigel had lost track of the number of emergency cool-down swims he and Taranee had taken, for both their sakes. He was sure Taranee had kept count, he thought with a grin, stepping into the surf after her. She was already diving in and out of the waves, her beaded braids catching the sun as they flew behind her.

He swam out to her, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, giving Nigel a slow kiss that steadily heated up, despite the cool waves lapping past them as they stood shoulder-deep out to sea.

"Any idea what happened to my suit?" she murmured as they separated for air. Nigel shook his head, and kissed her nose.

"Hopefully it's somewhere near my boxers, or we'll just have to suck it up and go to dinner naked."

"Why do you say 'we'? If your boxers are still there, what are you worried about?"

"Are you kidding? No way I'd let you get that embarrassed all alone." He grinned down at her. "'sides, if you're not afraid to show off, I'm not."

Taranee grinned back, and turned to lead him back to the beach. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, Nigel. Weren't … weren't we doing something else?" she said, blushing. He nodded, then leaned in to kiss her again. He kept it slow, light, and gentle. Even she wasn't sure when she'd lose hold of her emotions and burn them both to a crisp, still. But they both knew if they took their time, the pleasure was worth the challenge. They sank onto the blanket, entwined, to wait for dinner the best way they could think of.


	7. Chapter 7

**Happily Ever After All**

A Mystic Prequel

By: _A J_

(Standard Disclaimer Applies)

**Author's Warning!:** This work of fanfiction is a long-term look at the relationship of two adults, and as such, I'm not gonna pull any punches. This means Language, Nudity, Violence, and Sex! If any of those are not for you, turn back now, and read some of the gentler fictions by others and myself. For those with some fortitude, let's get on to the story.

Chapter 7: _Firelight & Frustrations_

Sundown came with a rainbow display that all the teens watched with awe, finishing their fish dinner. When Nigel asked about the naggingly familiar seasoning Caleb and Hay had used for the coal-baked filets, the pair exchanged a grin and pointed to the trees they were all camped under.

"The leaves of the Southern Trafallia vines," Hay said with a titter, pointing to the tiny flowering vines climbing up the palm-like trees. "They've been a secret ingredient of Lin family cooking for years. Grandma keeps a couple in a mini-greenhouse on the roof, ever since she discovered them when _she_ was a Guardian. They taste kind of like saffron, grow like weeds, and love the tropical heat."

Cornelia reached up to pluck a leaf to examine. "Ouch!" Pulling her hand back, she could see where the tiny serrations of the plant had given her micro-cuts across thumb and forefinger. "Okay, how do you _harvest_ the little buggers?"

"How else?" Hay grinned. She waved a hand, and a sudden gust brought her a handful of leaves. With another wave, she suspended them in the air before her, and with a twirl of her fingers, the leaves were shredded by a miniature tornado right before their eyes, to sprinkle into the teens' campfire. The kids all inhaled appreciatively as the Trafallia crisped in the flames, releasing their scent.

"Hmm," Nigel murmured, getting closer to the fire for a second to get a better whiff. "Somewhere between saffron and lemon-grass. No wonder it's so good on fish." He grinned up at Hay. Taranee giggled.

"You sure you're dating the right Guardian? Sounds like you two have more in common than we do." He leaned away from her, hand over his heart in mock-mortification.

"Taranee! My heart … my soul! You wound me! Are you trying to get rid of me already, having had your wicked ways with me at last?" He gasped, hamming it up, and the others all laughed.

"Wicked ways, eh?" Hay said salaciously. She leaned in to Taranee. "I guess I could take him off your hands," she stage-whispered. "Is he any good?"

"Much too good to give up this easily," Taranee answered airily. She wrapped her hands around Nigel's arm, still across his chest. "Maybe when I'm done with him." She gave a naughty wink, and the others laughed harder.

"Hay-hay! Do I mean nothing to you?" Eric cried, getting in on the act, and going to his knees beside her. He held one hand towards her, and threw the other arm over his eyes.

"You mean _everything_ to me, _qingren._ But a girl does like a little variety." She gave him a wink of her own, then tackled him into the sand, smothering him in kisses amidst giggles. "How about it? Can ya show me some?" she breathed out.

"Let's find out," he countered, surging to his feet with her lighter-than-air body slung over his shoulder. Eric took off for the distant ocean running. Hay's piercing _"WHOOOO!"_ echoed as they went.

"Oh, boy," Taranee chuckled as she settled back into Nigel's arms. "That girl …"

"Hey, just remember, T," Cornelia said from the other side of the fire. "This trip was _your_ idea." She was sitting on Caleb's back, giving him her promised massage as he lay next to the campfire.

"For which we're all thankful," Will said, burrowing into Matt's arms carefully. They each were taking their burnt shoulders stoically. He kissed the top of her head, and leaned back against the front of their tent with her. "Just remind me next time to bring some sunblock."

"Poor Willie," they heard from the edge of the circle of light. Hay scampered into her and Eric's tent, naked and dripping, to emerge a second later with a box they all could recognize, and a spare towel. She gave them all a grin and a wink, and disappeared again into the night. Matt swore quietly.

"What is it?" Will asked.

Matt pointed after Hay Lin. "She just reminded me of something else I forgot to bring," he muttered to Will. "Protection." He frowned after the Air Guardian, and she gulped.

"Well … um …" she pondered. "Okay, so … aw, _Chock-o-clock!"_ Will swore by her personal deity, the imported chocolate spread she'd been secretly addicted to since she'd been four. "I _so _did not come all this way to spend the night sunburned and frustrated." She pouted, and Taranee, Nigel, Cornelia and Caleb laughed. "Not helping," she added, making them laugh louder.

"We'll think of something to do, Babe," Matt whispered to her, nuzzling her neck. He blew a gentle, cool breath over her roasted shoulders, and she shuddered with a sigh.

"You're way too good for me," Will murmured back, and looped her arms around his neck, sighing again as he rubbed gently down her back, then up her front. She squirmed and giggled when he hit her ticklish spot, and he went back to it with an evil smirk. "Ha-ha-hee … _Hey! No fair!"_

"Didn't Nerissa warn you about our long game?" Matt asked, dropping his voice a register to Shagon's level. "We'll defeat the Guardians not with hate, but with tickling!" he gloated.

"Help! Guardians! Your Leader's gonna die laughing!" Will squealed.

"What a way to go," Cornelia murmured, shucking her bra and laying her bust against Caleb's back. He grinned up at her, and they twisted together to kiss.

"Augh! Taranee-hee-hee! Corny's been subverted by the enemy! Help us!" Will laughed, while she and Matt wrestled against their tent.

"Can't. Busy," Taranee said, in between kisses with Nigel. "You _'kiss'_ know? _'kiss'_ I'm _'kiss'_ glad _'kiss'_ I _'kiss'_ thought _'kiss'_ of _'kiss'_ this. _'kiss'_ And _'kiss'_ look! _'kiss'_ Dinner _'kiss'_ _and_ _'kiss'_ a _'kiss'_ show!" She locked lips with Nigel again, and the other Guardians could hear the two mentally laughing as they tried to hold the kiss as long as possible.

With a groan, Cornelia and Will met gazes. _"We're gonna have to move the tents farther, aren't we?"_ Will sent, while she and Matt paused for breath.

"_Oh, yeah."_ Cornelia smirked. _"Aside from everything else, including her 'jump 'em!' aura, Hay's a screamer."_

Will sat up, shoving Matt back with her Guardian strength to gawk at Cornelia. _"Okay, I know how _I_ know that, but how do _you?" Cornelia blushed, and under the Earth-girl, Will could see Caleb shaking with suppressed laughter. Will's eyes grew wide, and all she could say was "OH."

Matt and Nigel both asked "What?" in confusion. With an embarrassed look between them, the three Guardians all just said "Hay-hay Hell." The band members just nodded. They could both live without any more details of Hay Lin's sexual misadventures.

Caleb rolled over unexpectedly, dumping Cornelia in a windmill of limbs and sand, and swiftly pinned her underneath him. "Let's move the tents now," he said, with a meaningful leer. "While we're all still able to think about it." He kissed her savagely, and Cornelia threw her arms around his neck. She refused to let go even as the pair stood awkwardly and walked, still facing each other, over to their tent. Cornelia let him go long enough to help tow their tent a dozen yards further from the campfire, to the other side of the next knot of trees. Then with a wave goodnight, the pair disappeared inside, ostensibly for the rest of the night.

Will, Taranee, Nigel and Matt all got up reluctantly from the reassuring glow of the campfire, and each couple moved their tent in different directions. Matt and Will went further back from the shore, until they found a clear space devoid of any undergrowth. Matt was headed back to gather their clothes and towels when Will, who'd stayed to make sure the inside liner was flat across the bottom, let out an almighty shriek.

"_Quintessence!"_ she shouted, scrambling out of the tent butt-first. The whole thing levitated under her magical command ten feet straight up, and Matt and the returning Guardians, including a soaked Hay, could see a larvek hanging out of the bottom of the tent. Will flashed the Heart of Candracar back to one hand while using the other to keep the larvek airborne. "Guardians, Unite!"

In a flash, the four girls transformed and took to the air. Caleb, seeing the giant carnivorous worm, whirled back to his tent, and brought both staves and his sword. "Eric! Nigel, catch!" He cried, tossing a staff to Eric and his sword to Nigel. The late-arriving boys each grabbed the thrown weapons from the air while closing on the floating menace.

"Will! I got it!" Cornelia cried, calling a swarm of the razor-edged Tafallia vines from the encircling trees to wrap around the squirming larvek. Will used Quintessence to set the remains of their tent a short distance away, and turned back to face the monster.

"_Soooo … do we show off, or let the boys impress us?"_ Hay Lin asked the other girls with a wink. Taranee and Cornelia laughed, but Will was still taking the larvek's attack personally.

"Soon as this thing gets loose, give it a lift, Hay. Taranee, give it heartburn the second it tries to spit web. Cornelia?" Will glanced back at her, still keeping an eye on the worm from the corner of her vision. "Has Elyon ever mentioned if these things can swim?"

"They wriggle enough, so they're probably like earthworms," the Earth Guardian answered with a shrug. "You'd have to send it pretty far out for it to get tired enough to ... Wait. You're not seriously thinking ..?" She shuddered at what Will's stern nod implied.

"Angel, no …" Matt said, from behind her. He hadn't transformed, he hadn't even picked up the long stick he'd been using to maintain their fire. He was simply standing on the edge of the clearing, watching Will. "Come on, Babe. Think back. What did you tell me? What did you promise me? What did you promise 'Mina?"

"That I'd never let myself become Nerissa …" Will was interrupted by the larvek, cut and bleeding its green-grey blood from the Trafallia leaves, finally slithering loose from the vines. Hay lifted it with a whirlwind, keeping it off the ground and away from them all.

"Will?" Cornelia and Taranee asked, the latter with a finger pointed and primed with a miniature fireball.

"Just … send it down the beach a couple miles, Hay," Will said, with a tremulous moan. She settled to the ground in front of Matt, and he wrapped his arms reassuringly around her.

"Huh? Oh. Okay … uh, right or left?" Hay asked, lifting herself and the larvek higher. It tried to spit at her, as the only nearby target left, but she whipped the glob back into the thing's eyespots with a countercurrent. "Left," she decided, sending it flailing away from her on a miniature weather-front of its own into the dark distance.

She settled back to earth with a satisfied grin, only to be bum-rushed by Eric and Caleb, both of who hugged her in congratulations.

"Nice toss, sis," Caleb said, ruffling her hair. Even in Guardian form, she was still shorter than he was. She grinned up at him.

"Thanks! I've been practicing with Frums," she said.

Eric nabbed the second staff from Caleb, and nodded behind the trio. "Great save, Hay-hay. You caught it just above the ground," he said as Cornelia came up behind them. Thanks to Eric's warning, Caleb wasn't caught off-guard as she grabbed him away from Hay's embrace, and bopped him on the arm.

"And where's _my_ thank-you hug?" she teased. "It was facing _your_ way when Will pulled the tent off its head, Oh Great Hero."

"Well, I was going to wait and thank my personal Guardian in private, but since you insist …" Caleb nabbed Cornelia around the waist, and pulled her into a sweeping kiss, bending her over like he'd seen in the girls' favorite musical movies. She gave an _"Eeeeph!"_ before her eyes fluttered shut, and she snaked her arms around his neck again, hanging on for breathless dear life. Hay clapped in delight, and Nigel, Taranee, and Eric laughed.

Matt and Will were too preoccupied with each other to notice the byplay nearby. Will was starting to shake in reaction from all the adrenaline, and Matt kept his arms around her, holding her close. "It's okay, Angel," he murmured over and over into her hair. Finally, she sniffled, and leaned up to kiss him in thanks.

"_Thanks for keeping me here,"_ she sent telepathically, her hands still clenched between their bodies. He kissed her back, slowly and thoroughly, until her hands smoothed out across his chest, then slowly migrated up and over his shoulders. He winced, and she sent _"Sorry."_ Concentrating for a second, she held her hand micrometers over his burned shoulder, just where she could feel the heat radiating from his red skin. Breaking their kiss for a second, she whispered "Quintessence," and he felt a jolt like static cling across his shoulder.

"Ow," he murmured against her lips, and she kissed him again in apology.

"Better?" she asked, setting her hand on his shoulder again. He prepared to wince in pain, then looked at his shoulder in surprise when there wasn't any.

"Yeah!" he answered. He looked back at her. "How ..?" She smiled.

"Well, Quintessence is life-energy, so I figured it should be able to heal pretty well, if directed properly. And since sunburn is just surface-level, I thought it should be easy to take care of. Notice mine's gone …" she said, and wiggled so her top's shoulders slid down, showing her creamy perfect skin.

"In other words, if I had transformed …"

"Yeah, but you didn't, and now you don't have to. At least, not to heal …" Will looked up into his eyes, and his heart, already hers, melted all over again.

"Let's … ah … save that idea for later, Babe," he stammered, and pulled her back in for another tight hug.

"Aawwww," Hay said, looking at the two. "They are just too sweet, aren't they?" She leaned back into Eric's embrace, and he chuckled.

"Some camping trip," he said quietly.

"I know, huh?" She noticed he still had both staves, and grabbed one away with a titter. "Care for a rematch?" she said, flitting out of his arms, and swinging her staff at him. He blocked distractedly, and countered.

"Wow, after seeing you running around in the altogether all day, that outfit's almost more distracting, _amante."_ She gave him a growl, and swung harder. He winced at the impact he barely managed to block. She'd put a lot more of her Guardian strength behind that second blow. "OW, Hay-hay! Hey, I said _almost_ …" At that, she tackled him instead, bussing him soundly.

"That's easy to fix," she giggled between kisses. "Hey, Will. G-mergency's over. Wanna change us back?" Hay called out, and the other two girls, who'd been taking advantage of their enhanced strength to move their tents where they wanted them, grinned and sighed resignedly.

"Yeah," Will said distractedly, still lost in Matt's eyes and arms. She summoned the Heart, and transformed the four of them back into normal teenagers.

Or, not quite back to normal, the other girls noticed, as they reverted to their undie-wearing selves (save Hay, who'd spent pretty much all afternoon skyclad,) but _kept their Guardian heights and builds._

"Uh, Will?" Cornelia started to ask. The others all looked back at their Leader, who was still entwined with Matt, the Heart of Candracar dangling between her shoulder-blades just under her hair. Caleb leaned in and whispered something in the Earth Guardian's ear, and she smiled, forgetting all about having Will fix their partial transformation … at least until much later, or even tomorrow.

Taranee and Nigel, suddenly the same height just like Caleb and Cornelia, grabbed each other's hands and headed into their tent, only to emerge after a few seconds with a radio, a lantern, and their towels, and headed back to their private spot on the beach. Minutes later, soft country music could be heard playing from the cove where they'd started their journey of erotic discovery together.

Eric and Hay watched them go from where they were still tangled together with their staves. Then Eric became aware of something new to Hay's body, pressed against him as she was. "Am-_amante?_ You've grown." Hay looked down, giggled, and ground her freshly-enhanced chest against his, along with the rest of her. He groaned, and she giggled again.

"Why, so I have. And look!" She reached a hand between then and encircled his growing member. "So have you!" She gave him an extra-friendly caress, and sprang up, her Guardian body supernaturally limber. She glanced back to see that, no, she hadn't gotten to keep her wings. She supposed that particular experiment would have to wait for another time, and shrugged. She twirled her staff lazily, and planted it between her spread feet, leaning over his splayed form with her new accessories dangling invitingly. "You want 'em? Come get 'em."

Eric staggered to his feet, using his staff. As he got upright, Hay tapped his staff with hers. "Hmmmm … I think you'll have to beat me, to get me." She stepped back, spinning her weapon slowly. "I suddenly feel like playing hard to get." Her grin was sheer deviltry, and he smiled slowly in return. Here was the chance he'd always looked for, to prove to her once and for all that he was good enough to be hers, for now and always.

"Should I call you Atalanta?" he asked.

"I suppose, but you'd better hope this doesn't turn to racing. I have the feeling I could outrun Will right now, Melanion." She smiled her trademark megawatt grin, and he applauded her. They were studying classic Greek mythology this semester.

"How do you keep so much trivia in that cute, twisted mind of yours?" he asked, swinging first. She parried, riposted, and the two started sparring in earnest.

"Meiying remembers half of it, and I keep track of the rest," she answered, sliding under a wide swing of Eric's and trying to strike upwards. He leaned back from it, and she brought her staff down on his toes instead, then sprang back while he was still dancing one-legged.

"Ooooh, you're gonna get it now, Hay-hay. That's my driving foot." He thrust, she spun away, he planted his staff and spun around it in a two-footed kick.

She blocked it with her staff, also planted, then swatted at his while he was still returning to his feet. He tilted, but didn't fall, and swept back towards her with his staff. She blocked again, caught his in a spin, and sent him reaching wide while she tapped him on the shoulder. "Should we go with points?" she asked sweetly. "Or do we just play till somebody drops?"

"Oh, points, definitely. I wanna still have energy left for sex," he leered. He sprang forward, vaulting with his staff for extra distance, and swatted her on the ass as she spun out of the way. "That's one-one," he said. "What're we going up to?"

"Oh, I think five'll be plenty," she returned, spinning her staff between them again, looking for an opening. "I want to save energy for afterwards too."

"If we're both already looking forward to the sex, why don't we make it three out of five?" he asked. He jabbed, she countered. She swung, he blocked.

"You're both up one, how about two out of three, and you can get out of our hair," Matt said from where he and Will were now trying to save what was left of their tent.

Hay and Eric were about to agree when they all became aware of Taranee laughing from the beach. The four teens all traded curious looks, and Eric held his hand out to Hay. "To be continued?" He nodded at the beach, and she grinned and nodded back. They dropped their staves, and the four all went to see what had Taranee brightening up the night with laughter.

They got to the Fire-mistress and Nigel's cove, to find the two standing next to a pair of spread towels, listening to Nigel's radio and backlit by a lantern.

"What's all the hubbub, bubbette?" Will asked. Irma wasn't here, so somebody had to be bold and silly, she figured. Taranee laughed again, and leaned over to hit 'back' on the CD player.

"Remember how Nigel keeps calling me 'Firecracker'?" She waited for the other four to nod, then continued. "Well half of it is from our first night's adventure, when I turned Uriah's bottle-rocket before it made Will all red, white, and boom. The other half, well …" She hit 'play', and Josh Turner's _'Firecracker'_ blared out.

The six teens settled down to listen through once, and Will and Hay could tell why she was laughing as soon as the chorus started up. Matt and Eric, already familiar with the song thanks to Nigel, and aware he'd been waiting for just the right moment to play it for Taranee, just sat back with huge grins, waiting. When the line about the 'blonde bottle-rocket' rang out, they all looked towards Cornelia and Caleb's tent, then looked at each other and laughed. The song wound down quickly from there, and Taranee reached out and hit 'stop'.

Hay was still humming the chorus, staring into Eric's eyes. With a bounce, she jumped back into his arms, and the pair of besotted teens headed back to their own tent without another word to the others. Nigel and Matt looked at each other resignedly, and shook their heads, grinning.

"That girl …" Matt muttered. The girls both sighed as well. The two couples were just standing to separate when they all heard an almighty _'Crack!'_ resound through the beachfront. Matt and Will were about to go running back towards where the Air Guardian and her beau had headed as well when Taranee latched onto their wrists.

"It's just Hay and Eric," she said with a grin, as more cracks and clacks could be heard, then a squeal. "Seeing who gets the last point." Taranee let go of Matt, hanging on to Will long enough to send privately_ "Hey, Red. Be good tonight."_ As they separated, she pressed something into Will's hand with a wink. Will glanced down long enough to recognize the foil square in her grasp, and hugged Taranee with a microsqueal of her own.

"_Thanks, Braids!"_ she returned, and grabbing Matt's hand with her free one, she started back towards their tent with a final wave and a giggle. "G'night, you two. We'll try to get them to keep it down."

Nigel turned back to Taranee after the others had gone. "So … dancing? Or do you want to go for another dip, first?" She leaned down and hit 'back', then 'play' again. The opening notes of her new favorite country song started, and she grabbed his hand.

"Why not both?" she said, and the two swirled and sashayed into the surf with the music playing behind them.


	8. Chapter 8

**Happily Ever After All**

A Mystic Prequel

By: _A J_

(Standard Disclaimer Applies)

**Author's Warning!:** This work of fanfiction is a long-term look at the relationship of several adults, and as such, I'm not gonna pull any punches. This means Language, Nudity, Violence, and Sex! If any of those are not for you, turn back now, and read some of the gentler fictions by others and myself. For those with some fortitude, let's get on to the story.

Chapter 8: _Sword, Story, & Song_

Something none of them expected woke up all eight teens the next morning. Will and the others snapped out of their comfortable rests to a sudden rainstorm beating relentlessly over their tents. "_Howinthe … whointhe … wha ..?"_ echoed between the girls fuzzily as they all popped up from their sleeping bags.

"What, no warning, Miss Atmosphere?" Eric groaned as he burrowed further into their multitude of pillows.

"Shut it ..." Hay moaned in return. She pulled the zipper up on the front of their tent a couple inches to see out. She was spattered immediately, and she shrank back with a squeal. Then something else registered, and she grew a feral grin. _"You guys … the sun's still shining out there," _she sent to the other three tent-bound Guardians.

"_You mean ..?" "No way!" "When I get my hands on her …" _flew back, and Hay and the other girls all popped out of their tents at the same time, bare-naked and battle-ready with fistfuls of their Elements primed.

"You know, if I knew it was this easy to get the rest of you up in the morning, I'd have started instituting group showers at sleepovers _years_ ago," Irma smirked, letting the last of her artificial rain fall on the four.

"Oh, you should all just be glad I left the security retinue behind," Elyon giggled, as the naked Guardians all started clamoring for Irma's head on a platter and other such dire fates. "How would the Royal Irregulars react to the sight of our world's saviors screaming bloody murder at each other in the buff?"

"Oh, I don't know," said Caleb, standing up behind a still-fuming Cornelia clad in just his pants. "I think they'd sit back and enjoy the show," he continued, surreptitiously goosing his girlfriend. She whirled around to start screaming at him too, and he pulled her in for a long kiss while wrapping her in his long coat. The spectacle of a silenced Cornelia got the others to stop yelling as well.

A now-awake Taranee dove back into her tent with an _'Eeeep!'_ to find clothes, even while Matt and Eric were climbing out of their respective canvas huts. The boys at least had taken time to find covering for their more personal bits.

"Goo … _'Yawn!'_ … ood morning, Your Majesty," Eric said by way of greeting.

"And a soggy hello to the court jester, too," Matt added at Irma, his eyes glowing green for a second while he steam-dried Will, who thanked him with a quick kiss, then ducked behind him to find her underwear and tiny-tee.

"Well, I could've just flooded the tents instead, and let you all know how laundry feels with a tumble down the beach," Irma said with a grin. "I should be applauded for my restraint."

"Oh, I'll applaud you all right, right into traction," Cornelia snarled. "I just _got_ this permanent. _Now_ look at it!"

"Yeah, I'd go get your money back, Corny. If one night roughing it is gonna give you permanent _bed-head_, it's time to switch salons." The others laughed while Cornelia screamed, checking her hair. Irma's thorough soaking had erased any evidence of the problem, however.

"Just you wait, _Irmy._ Some day, when you least expect it, I'll get you back for this …" the blonde Earth-girl fumed.

"And she called _us_ childish," Will chuckled to Matt.

"I take it it's after noon on Earth, then?" Cornelia said with a squeeze on her soaked hair.

"Just," Irma replied. "Mom came home, Chris whined, I dressed and skedaddled. By the way," she continued, turning to Elyon. "We could all use a dupe of that mirror, your Highness."

"So I've heard," Elyon replied with a dry grin at the rest of the semi-dressed girls around them.

"What mirror?" Nigel asked Taranee closely.

"We'll show ya later," she giggled at the scratch of his incipient whiskers.

"So … what have you all been doing to entertain yourselves out here? As if I even need to ask," Elyon said, grinning devilishly at the blushes that covered most of the teens' faces. Hay just grinned back, giggling furiously, while Caleb rubbed the back of his neck, refusing to meet his Queen's eyes.

"Oh, boy," Irma groaned, rolling her eyes.

"_You mean, oh, boys,"_ Elyon whispered, enjoying the sight of shirtless Nigel, Matt, Eric, and Caleb.

"_I heard that,"_ still-nude Hay whispered back to the pair, her grin widening lecherously. "_And Irma ..? My offer still stands. I'd even be willing to include Elly, if she's in'tristid …"_ she added, her arm wrapping sinuously around Eric's.

"_What is she ..?"_ Elyon started to ask the Water girl, when Irma told her with a quick, and private, mental response. "OH!" the young Queen blurted, and blushed fit to match Will and Nigel's hair.

"Sprite, what trouble're you getting into now?" Taranee asked the Air girl.

"None, yet," Hay replied with sincerity, and a pout. Eric chuckled and kissed her.

"So, how about that tour, your Majesty?" Nigel asked, distracting the already-distracted Queen.

"Er … yeah, the … tour …" Elyon stuttered. Giving Nigel a grateful glance, she straightened her plain, 'off-duty' dress and smiled at the rest of them. "G'head and get dressed, gang. It's still chilly in Meridian in the morning."

"Aye-aye, your Worship," Hay said smartly, delivering a Meridian salute, fist over her heart. Her cheeky grin as she turned and dragged Eric back into their tent had the others laughing all over again.

Only Elyon and Irma heard her faint _"Your loss, ladies …"_ on the wind.

_W.i.t.c.h._

Once dressed and packed, the teens teletransported back to the Meridian Palace, where they dropped all their bags in Caleb's quarters for the day. Then they followed him and the young Queen on an insider's tour of the castle and the surrounding grounds.

They made a point to stop at the Royal Guards' training yard, where the boys got a chance to show off for the Guardians for a change. First was a demonstration by the band members and the younger trainees in synchronized drilling with pikes, (which Hay telepathically told the other girls Elyon had lifted whole cloth from 'Army of Darkness', giggling the while,) then they participated in individual sparring matches.

Matt and Eric went first, showing what they'd learned of staff-fighting against the teens' new friends, Vathek's nieces Bruyere and Acebo. Then Vathek himself and Bruyere's boyfriend Jadzj came forth, blades at the ready, to challenge Nigel and Caleb.

"Neimad's gonna be frelled," Jadxj told Nigel with a grin. "He's always told me he wanted to be the first in our squad to cross blades with Captain Caleb."

"Is he that good?" Nigel gulped. Caleb had been the one to teach him, after all.

"Neimad likes to think so," was the reply, before Jadzj brought his blade up in an _en garde_. The two worked out for several minutes, semi-distracted by the more experienced pair of Caleb and Vathek nearby fairly killing each other in an over-the-top exhibition of furious swordsmanship.

"Good … workout … man …" Nigel panted, several minutes later, when the pair finally parted. "I'll … haveta rem … ember to come … back again soon." He grinned and clasped arms with Jadzj, who just gave him a sweaty grin and a nod.

"Had enough?" Elyon giggled as the four perspiration-soaked boys came back their way.

"For this trip, anyway," Matt grinned back. He waved their farewells to the gathered guards, and the Guardians' guys' tour continued into the city.

_W.i.t.c.h._

Hours later, when even hyper Hay and indefatigable Irma were dragging their feet, Elyon drew them to a halt before an otherwise-freestanding door in the furthest corner of Meridian City. Briefly recharged by muffins from the bakery next to Aldarn's father's smithy, the teens were now all tired and hungry.

"We'll leave the Infinite City for another time, I guess," Elyon said, taking in their exhausted expressions. "But there's one part of it I never get tired of seeing. Join hands, everybody."

When they were all hand-clasped, Elyon teletransported them to the Mage's Grotto. Remembering the last time they were there, the Guardians tensed for a moment, expecting Nerissa to appear once more and do … _something_. The five girls relaxed, Irma and Cornelia first, after a breathless minute of quiet nothing.

Stepping over to the burbling pool beneath the waterfall, Irma knelt to run her hand through the water for a moment. "Next time I'm bringing Cass to see this," she said softly.

"It's … beautiful," Nigel blurted, staring raptly around, then up. The source of the waterfall was shrouded above by the crashing flow's misty back spray.

"We're getting hand-fasted here," Caleb said to Cornelia. She gasped and whirled in his arms.

"Is that a proposal, Mister Hart?" she managed to utter, staring into his eyes.

"You're the only one I'd ask," he said softly. Hay whistled.

"I guess you two aren't fighting anymore?" Will murmured, grinning.

"Oh, we're still fighting," Cornelia said, now with a sappy grin. "We're always gonna be fighting … but … our differences make for good sparks … Don't they mister Hart?"

"Mister Hale," he corrected, to the giggles of the girls and the chortles of the boys.

"Hmm, only one problem left then," Elyon said with a wicked grin.

"What's that, your Holiness?" Hay asked breathlessly, already swept up in planning the reception at the Silver Dragon in her head.

"You aren't marrying my best friend without my blessing, Sir Caleb, and I'm saying no."

"_WHAT_?" the Guardians all cried in confusion. Elyon's grin just got wider.

"Not until she graduates," she added.

"Elly ..? Oh ..! You ..! Cornelia stamped her foot, making the grotto around them rumble ominously, then disappeared in a green flash.

"What was _that_?" Eric asked nervously, eyeing the ceiling far above them.

Cornelia reappeared next to Elyon as suddenly as she vanished, hands behind her back. "Not 'til I graduate, huh, Elly?" she asked, with a strange look on her face.

"Hey, if I gotta stick out high school, why should I let my subjects get awa … OOF!" Elyon never got to finish her rant, as Cornelia walloped her with the pillow she'd been hiding under her hair.

"Nice shot Corny!" Irma sang, as the rest of the teens laughed around them.

"If that's how you're gonna take it …" Elyon smirked. With a wave of her hands, she teletransported them all back to her sumptuous suite in a flash. "PILLOW FIIIIGHT!" she shrieked, grabbing a cushion off the nearest divan and counterattacking.

The others joined in quickly, rejuvenated by their stop in the grotto. Several minutes – and several burst pillows – later, they were all collapsed and laughing around Elyon's rooms, when young Alanna peeked in.

"Is ever'thin' arroight, yer Hoighniss?" she uttered. Elyon and the others, exhausted once more and covered in feathers, all looked over and chuckled together.

"Yeah, we're fine, Alanna. I think the Guardians and their friends are finally ready to go home to Earth."

"Finally? _You're_ the one who walked all over half of Meridian," Will giggled.

"Eh, if I got here at noon, it's probably close to six, now," Irma sighed, sitting up slowly. "Ow. Man, Olsen; It's a _pillow fight_. Is a little restraint too much to … _OOF!"_

"Nice shot, _Idazmi,"_ Caleb chuckled, helping the Earth girl back to her feet and giving her a kiss.

"There's that name again," Taranee said, frowning. "We never did hear _that_ story."

"Neither have I," Elyon added, picking feathers out of her braids.

"Oh, an' i's a beautiful one, too," Alanna sighed, stepping into the room shyly.

"Alright, let's clean this up while we hear it then, gang," Will sighed, blowing a stray feather from her bangs with a grin.

"Ten steps ahead of ya, Will," Hay sang. With a puff of breath and a wave of her hands, she created a micro-whirlwind that sucked up all the down from around the teens and funneled it back into the popped pillowcases. With a laugh and a wave of her own, Elyon resealed the seams, and the pillows were as good as new again.

"I guess you'll just have to tell it to us on the way back to your room, _Tantris_," Cornelia told Caleb with a return kiss. She stooped to grab the pillow she'd hit Irma with last back up. "It's where this one's from, anyway," she admitted with flushed cheeks.

Caleb and Alanna regaled their Queen and the other teens with the saga of _'Tantris and Idazmi'__*****_ on the walk down the interminable hallways of the palace, finishing in Caleb's quarters. When they were finally finished, Will checked her phone for the time back in Heatherfield.

"Omigosh, my mom's gonna ground me 'til I'm outta _college_," she swore. She leaned across and hugged Elyon tightly. "We gotta motor, Elly. It's almost eight o'clock!"

'_Perfect!'_ "Okay, I'll see you guys tomorrow in school," Elyon sighed. "And Will?" _"You know this one, Hay-hay, help the others …" _she whispered as the redhead turned back her way, one hand already around the Heart.

"Aaaa … _very_ merry un-birthday … to you, to you …" Elyon started singing, to be joined a second after by Hay, Irma, and the band-boys, and then a reluctant giggling Taranee and Cornelia. Caleb and Alanna looked at each other blankly in confusion for a second, then both just shrugged.

"Earth girls," Caleb sighed with a smile.

Will folded them all back to the basement of the Silver Dragon, blushing fit to match her hair, and the teens dispersed to their homes for the night.

_W.i.t.c.h._

"You want a snack?" Will asked as they came in her new home's back door. She and Matt had just folded back from the Dragon, and they shucked their coats onto the rack inside the door. He leaned over past their backpacks and kissed her cheek.

"Sounds good, Babe. I'll meet you in there. But first ..." He gave a nod towards the downstairs half-bath, and she grinned. Meridian still hadn't graduated from outhouses and chamber pots, so the majority of them had learned to 'hold it' until they returned home. One of these days, _'Hopefully SOON,'_ he thought as he jogged towards the blessed miracle of indoor facilities, Elyon would be able to introduce plumbing to Metamoor.

Will was pulling the parts for sandwiches out of the drawer in the fridge when he got there, and he stepped behind her and slid his hands up her hips to wrap around her waist. "Hey-y-y," she giggled as he kissed the back of her neck. "Food first, Romeo."

"What if I told ya I'm not really hungry ... for food, anyway ..." he murmured before another kiss.

Will let the lettuce tumble from her hands back into the fridge and turned in his grasp, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him deeply. "I'd say you're not alone," she whispered against his lips, before dueling tongues with him again. She used her Guardian strength to move them over and kicked the fridge door shut behind her, then pushed Matt onto the closest stool by the island in the middle of the kitchen.

They were digging at the buttons on the front of each other's pants when a throat cleared across the room.

"Well, I guess you really _are_ going to have to marry him someday," Dean Collins chuckled as the two furiously-blushing teens hurriedly straightened their clothes. "So … you two ready for Will's birthday party?" Will made a disgusted face.

"Ah, c'monnnn ... you two _promised_ me … no surprise parties," she whined good-naturedly.

"And it's _not_ a surprise," Dean replied, with a grin. "I'm telling you now."

"He's got ya there, Angel," Matt chuckled, pulling her against him and kissing the back of her neck again. She elbowed him lightly, and looked over the food she'd already pulled out.

"So long as there's food there, I'm all for a party," she sighed, and started gathering the sandwich fixings back up to return them to the fridge.

"Who else is gonna be there?" Matt asked Dean while lending her a hand.

"Well, I know Susan sent invitations to all your friends, and had Taranee ask the band to come as well ..."

"First I've heard of it," Matt sniped.

"I think she knew you'd be there either way," Dean countered with a grin, nodding at the pair's twined hands. "The Swim Team got invites as well," he added, almost as an afterthought.

"Huh, wonder if Elly'll be back in time from her weekend family trip," Will pondered lightly, glancing back at Matt.

"The invitations went out over a week ago, so she's had plenty of time to R.S.V.P. one way or the other," Dean said, "though I haven't heard anything. We'll just have to find out together, hmm?" He pulled his driving gloves on again and waved the pair back towards the door across the kitchen.

"Where're we going anyway, Mister Collins?" Matt asked as the two teens got their coats.

"Wow, they really didn't tell you _anything_, did they?" Dean chuckled. He continued after an expectant pause, "Dave and Busters." Will and Matt both groaned good-naturedly as they followed him out to his PT Cruiser.

_W.i.t.c.h._

***Author's Note two:** _'Tantris and Idazmi'_ is my own take on the origins of the First Heart of Meridian, a story somewhere between _'Romeo and Juliet' _and_ 'Tristan and Isolde'_, with all the magic one would expect in a guardian tale. To be released whenever I actually get done with more than half a chapter … ;D Catch ya on the flipside dear readers, don't forget to review please, A J.


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